Leo's Voyage to the House of Hades
by fantasy137
Summary: Leo and his friends are headed out to Greece to visit the House of Hades and the Doors of Death. Relationships are changing though. Can the Heroes overcome this new obstacle? Plenty of fluff, drama, humor, and action/adventure. Leo/Piper, Frank/Hazel, Jason/Reyna, Percy/Annabeth, with Leo/Hazel! Please Read and Review! :)
1. Flaming Valdez

Leo's Voyage to the House of Hades

Spoilers for the Mark of Athena

**Authors note: Ok, so I'm new to fan fiction, and am not completely sure how it works. Anyways, I got the Mark of Athena and finished, it and afterwards, I was crushed. Mr. Riordan…How could you? You toss Percabeth into Tartarus and expect us to wait a YEAR?! I am in pain. So then I started to go into this panicking phase, freaking out, and endlessly searching for fanfictions (specifically LEO). And I was inspired to write this. FYI this is a Liper (Leo and Piper) with a touch of Lazel (Leo and Hazel) and Frazel (Frank and Hazel). I tried to make it so Jason isn't a villain, but I seriously think Leo and Piper are really easy together. I don't know if anyone will actually read this so if you do, please review, so I know someone is reading. Ok, so here goes. GO TEAM LEO! **

**Disclaimer: I in no way, own the Heroes of Olympus or any of the characters. Wish I did though…**

Leo studied his Wii controller carefully. He felt completely lost and confused. Two of his friends were just sucked into the nightmare named Tartarus. What was he supposed to do now? Annabeth seemed intimidating, but she was actually pretty awesome. Percy was really laid back and sarcastic, Leo liked that. His chest tightened as he thought of them together, lost in Tartarus. All because he, Leo Valdez supreme idiot, had opened the stupid cookie Nemesis had given him.

_The seventh wheel. _The words still echoed in his mind.

Aside from having to save the world from the earth goddess Gaea, he was also having some other issues. Like Hazel. He had seen how much she loved Sammy, but he wasn't sure if that meant she liked him, or Frank. Leo knew he was very similar to Sammy, but did Hazel prefer Frank over him? Leo could see Frank really cared about Hazel, probably more then Leo, considering they had only met like a week ago. Still, Leo felt it was his responsibility to look out for. It was what his great grandfather and wanted him to do. Plus, she was pretty and Leo found himself feeling more self conscious around her.

Then there was Piper. Leo had always seen her as a close friend who had a tendency to freak out over the whole love me, love me not, thing with Jason. That wasn't Jason's fault of course. Jason was perfect. But, today when Piper had emerged from her cabin, she looked different. There was a determined glint in her eyes and she walked with a new confidence. It was as if seeing her closest friend sucked into Tartarus had given her a wake up call. The worst part was that Leo found this new Piper…attractive.

No. Leo pushed the thought aside. Piper was his friend; he wasn't going to jeopardize that. Plus, he wasn't going to think about anything that could possibly confuse him more.

He glanced down at the Wii Controller, and sighed. _Creeeak. _Leo glanced and saw Festus staring at him. Festus, his dragon head.

"Its nothing buddy, don't worry,"

Some more creaks and groans.

"Nah, I'm not upset, relax man! I mean dragon head," Leo thought of the way Festus used to be. The thought hurt him. It was his fault. Leo destroyed everything. "Whoa" he thought, "Way to be positive,"

He was so lost in thought he didn't hear Piper approaching.

"Sup, Valdez," A familiar voice said. Leo turned and saw Piper. She looked awesome. She was wearing a camouflage tank top with faded jeans. Her eyes sparkled in their kaleidoscopic way. Her rich brown hair was tied to the side and a strand of it fell on her face. Leo was almost tempted to reach out and brush it away.

"Just keeping us on course. We don't exactly have time to waste," Leo responded.

"Leo, I've been thinking-"

"Uh-oh," Leo joked.

"Shut up Repair Boy," Piper said. "How do you feel about me and Jason?"

"Well…um you guys are…why are you asking again?"

"It's just I've been thinking," She stopped as Jason approached.

"Piper, can I talk to you?" Jason asked grimly.

"Sure," Piper said as she followed Jason. She glanced back and winked at Leo as she turned the corner with Jason, leaving Leo alone once again.

"Stop," Leo scolded himself. "You are never gonna get a girl," _I don't even have a weapon. I can't fight. All I can do is fix stuff and protect myself with fire. I can't use a bow and arrow, or a dagger, or a sword. I have nothing, unless breath mints count. I'm just Flaming Valdez the mechanic. _

**Ok, so if anyone read this please, please, please give me some feedback. No hating please ! I accept constructive criticism! Next chapter will be Piper's POV. Hope to write soon! **


	2. Repair Boy

Chapter 2 – Leo

**The new chapter 2 is here! I hope you like it!**

"I know all about pipe connectors, thank you very much," Leo huffed. There was a series of taps and creaks. "What is that supposed to mean? You think you can run this ship better? I'm the one who drew blueprints for this with crayon, so you don't try and teach me, or you can just get off." More creaking followed. "Don't you use that tone of creak with me," Leo began, but he was cut off by the sound of footsteps.

"Leo?" Hazel asked incredulously when she saw him. "Were you just, arguing with the ship's mast head?"

"Pfft, arguing with the ships mast head? I'm not crazy!" said Leo waving it off. Hazel frowned. "Well not crazier than usual anyways," he muttered. To his surprise, Hazel laughed.

"It's okay Leo. We're all under a lot of pressure right now. It must be worse for you, having to run the ship without any help from Annabeth," said Hazel soothingly. "But if anyone can get through, it's you. You're Sammy Va-" she froze as she realized what she had just said. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered, looking away.

"It's okay," Leo mumbled.

"I used to give that speech to Sammy all the time," she said, squeezing her eyes shut. "It just slipped."

"It happens."

"Yeah, I guess. I'll just be going now, to bed," she said stepping back cautiously. "Good night."

"Good night," Leo said simply, turning back and leaning on the side of the ship. He doubted he would have a good night. How could he with all of this stress? It was practically eating him up. How was he supposed to sleep, when Annabeth and Percy were in Tartarus, doing Hades knows what. He couldn't stand it. He turned at the sound of footsteps. Piper was walking towards him.

"Hey Valdez," she said standing next to him, and leaning on the side of the ship. He didn't respond. He didn't need to. "Remember?"

"Remember what? Come on, talk in full sentences," Leo teased pushing her gently. She pushed him, in the same playful way.

"Our time at Wilderness school. You know, the time we first met and stuff?"

Leo looked at her thoughtfully. "All I remember is…Jason."

"Yeah, me too. I just wish I could remember how things were like before Jason arrived. And what about when we _thought _Jason was there? What really happened? Will those memories ever come back?" She sounded desperate, and Leo wished he could help.

"Yeah, I'd kind of like to know what happened too," Leo admitted. He didn't mention that he thought about it all the time and he definitely didn't mention the strange dreams he'd been having. Most of them included Piper.

"Will everything be okay?" Piper asked softly. Leo knew that she needed someone to tell her that, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't bring himself to lie.

"I hope so, but I don't know." Piper nodded.

"I know. It's just…" she trailed off. Leo considered her upset look.

"Whatever happens, I'll be there, standing next to you." Piper looked at him carefully.

"Thank you. I think that's what I needed to hear." She looked out and sighed. "I miss Annabeth."

"Yeah, me too," Leo said wistfully. Piper looked at him, and he could have sworn she narrowed her eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"You know, for help with the ship and all," Leo said, confused by the sudden change in Piper's mood.

"Oh," she said relaxing. "I hope their okay."

"Their Percy and Annabeth, of course their okay," Leo said firmly. He grinned at her widely. "Trust Valdez."

Piper snorted. "That'll be the _last _thing I do." She smiled. "I'm glad you're on this quest Leo. We all need a laugh now and then."

"Yeah, I make a good court jester," Leo said bitterly. That's all he was, wasn't it? He was just the clown. Other than that he just messed things up. He was useless. He was only entertainment. Piper seemed to have noticed the change in tone.

"You know that's not what I meant," she said quietly.

"What?"

"I didn't mean you're just a clown. Without you, we wouldn't even be this far. We wouldn't have a way to get to this place! No Leo equals no Argo. No Argo equals no quest. Therefore, no Leo equals no quest. How many times do we have to tell you?" Piper said, dropping her playfulness.

"You're right. Every quest needs the mechanic."

"Shut up Leo! You know none of that is true!" Piper said angrily. She turned to face Leo. "You are an amazing builder and engineer. You're a genius, not a lowly mechanic like you think. Not only that, you're an amazing friend, incredibly funny, and admittedly cute…" she trailed off, her eyes wide. Leo blinked.

Had Piper just called him…cute? Maybe it was in that friendly way. But then why was she blushing so much. Suddenly, she started laughing.

"Piper?" Leo asked nervously.

"Sorry," she choked between her laughter. "I need to go to bed." She laughed harder before turning and walking back to her room.

What was that about? Leo shrugged before heading to his own room, and crashing.

The next morning Leo woke early. He sleepily got ready and went to breakfast. The only person there was Piper. He sat across from her.

"Morning," he said sleepily. Piper looked up and he saw a blush spread on her cheeks.

"Good morning," she said sleepily before looking at her plate again. It was untouched. Leo looked down at the pancakes that had appeared on his own plate.

"Sleep well?" Leo asked watching her carefully. She blushed even more. Piper rarely blushed.

"Yeah," Piper said shyly. There was silence and then "How about you?"

"Oh come on Piper, like you care," Leo said grinning. "Since when are we so formal?" Piper gave a small smile, but she still looked embarrassed. "What's wrong? You look ashamed."

"Leo, about what I said yesterday…" she trailed off. The sound of footsteps echoed through the silence, and then Jason walked in, sitting next to Piper.

"Morning," he said to no one in particular. Piper and Leo both mumbled back their greetings. Jason immediately began attacking an omelet on his plate.

"Whoa! You look like you haven't eaten for a week," Leo said watching Jason wolf down his food.

"I didn't eat anything yesterday," Jason explained between bites. "I was thinking."

"What a rare occurrence."

"Shut up Leo," Jason said grinning, as another omelet appeared on his plate. "Man, these omelets are good."

"You seem cheerful today," Piper said thoughtfully.

"Well I was thinking yesterday…not a word Leo." Leo, who had his mouth open with a clever remark on the tip of his tongue, froze. "Anyways, I realized that we need to keep spirits up, so we can survive," Jason finished.

"You're right. Depressed people rarely win battles," Leo said smiling.

"Oh stop smirking Leo," Piper scolded.

"I'm not smirking, I'm just smiling in a satisfied and slightly evil way," Leo said grinning widely. Jason laughed and eventually Piper joined in too. It felt good to just be sitting there, talking and laughing. Leo enjoyed it a lot. The trio looked up as Frank entered the room.

"Good morning," he mumbled.

"Morning dearest Frank," Leo said in a perfect British accent. Frank gave him a strange look. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Frank said quickly, looking around. Jason and Piper laughed. Hazel appeared behind Frank, looking very ruffled.

"What's going on?" she asked confused. Leo smiled widely, and was about to say something, when Piper put her hand on his. He looked at her, startled.

"That's enough Leo. Let them eat," Piper said sternly. Frank and Hazel exchange looks before sitting down. Hazel sat next to Leo and Frank next to her. Leo had trouble thinking straight with Piper's hand on his. Why was this happening? Piper suddenly seemed to notice what she was doing, and jerked her hand away.

"Piper, what's wrong?" Hazel asked, worried by the sudden movement.

"Nothing," Piper said as a blush crept to her cheeks again. She glanced at Leo, who was watching her, and then stared, at her cereal. Everyone looked up as Nico suddenly arrived. He sat down next to Jason, and began eating quickly, wolfing down his food.

"Good morning Nico," said Hazel, a smile firmly in place. Everyone could see how happy she was to have him back. Nico glanced up briefly, nodded, and then went back to his food.

The rest of breakfast was fairly quiet. Jason, Frank, and Hazel were talking about Camp Jupiter, and Nico was eating. Leo was thinking hard, frowning at his pancakes.

He looked up and noticed that Piper was staring at him, her chin rested on her hand. She had a slightly glazed look, and didn't notice that Leo was looking at her.

That was strange. Normally Piper stared at Jason. She was probably daydreaming about his blonde hair and blue eyes. The thought disgusted Leo, and made him feel…was that jealousy? He needed help.

But why was she staring at him then? Was she daydreaming about him? _Ha! Yeah right! Wistful thinking!_

Leo frowned. That was what it was, wistful thinking. But he couldn't shake the thought that maybe…

"Leo?" Hazel asked tentatively, shaking Leo out of his thoughts. He realized that he had been staring at Piper.

"What?"

"You and Piper have been staring at each other for like, 5 minutes," she said, her face arranged in a puzzled look. It looked cute on her. _Whoa dude! Make up your mind!_

The sound of her name seemed to have taken Piper out of her thoughts.

"What?" she asked dazed.

"You and Leo have been staring at each other for 5 minutes," Hazel repeated. Piper blushed, and glanced at Jason, who was looking at her worried.

"No, I was just thinking. I kind of got dazed I guess. I stare ahead when I think," explained Piper, but it was clearly rushed.

"Oh. I do the same," said Hazel kindly, but there was a suspicious note in her voice. "What about you Leo?"  
"Just thinking," Leo said plainly. Hazel nodded.

"Well, there is a lot to think about." There was silence for a long time, only broken by Nico getting up to leave.

"I should go check on the ship…make sure Coach Hedge didn't hit the control panel with a club," Leo said offhandedly, getting up to leave.

He found Nico leaning on the railing of the ship. He was in a complete daze. Leo was confused by Nico. It seemed that he had good intentions, but he was such a dark person. There was so much unknown about him. Who knew what ran through his mind?

_Way to go Valdez. Now you've found yourself even more problems. Piper, Hazel, and now you're wondering if you can trust Nico! You don't have a choice, buddy. Now stop thinking before you blow something up. Just do your job, and drive this ship. Don't try and be a hero, you're a sidekick. You're just Flaming Valdez. Just a repair boy._

__**If you didn't like this, please let me know. I will keep writing chapter 2 until I get it right! I won't know how I'm doing unless you**

**REVIEW!**

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	3. Mythomagic

Chapter 3 – Nico

**This is me, trying to get into Nico's head. I apologize in advance if I did not do well. Please let me know in a review!**

Nico felt lousy. He was so misunderstood, and so…alone. Yeah, son of Hades should love being alone, but that was a stereotype. Nico had to deal with more than one stereotypes. Not all of them were about his godly parent. Some were about his appearance. The fact was, most of the things that people noticed about Nico, were things he had no control over. When people noticed Percy, they noticed his hero qualities. When they saw Annabeth, they saw wisdom. When they noticed Nico, they noticed an emo kid. Nico was NOT emo. Why would people think that? Because of things he couldn't change.

He had dark hair. _Hello, not my fault._ He had connections to death. _Son of Hades…I can't change it!_ He wore dark clothes. _Do you expect me to where a bright yellow shirt to the Underworld?_ He wore skulls. _Sorry for not buying the butterfly ring. _He was alone a lot. _People stay away from me. I'm not lonely by choice. _

Nico knew that the reason people avoided him was because of his father. He wasn't sure why people avoided death, but not lightning. His appearance was all because of his father. Being the son of Hades was awful. He couldn't even use the same curses as the other demigods. The one time he had said 'what in Hades' his father had given him an hour-long lecture about how 'swearing on your father' was 'unacceptable'.

What Nico hated most, was probably the fact that people were afraid of him, because of his pale skin, and smell of death. People weren't being mean to him, they were too afraid, but there was no respect like they held for Percy or Thalia. The campers were a bit wary of them, but that didn't keep them from pulling pranks. Nobody dared to pull a prank on Nico. He wasn't sure what they thought he'd do to them. Maybe they were afraid he would turn them into ghosts or something. One of his only friends was Percy, and he knew Percy was just as uneasy around him as the others. The only reason Percy hung out with him, was because of what had happened with Bianca. At least, that's what Nico thought. Being captured by the giants had given him plenty of time to think over these things. He had come up with so many theories, he was sure he could become a decent psychologist.

His time in Tartarus and then with the giants had completely drained Nico. He felt very week and he was _always _hungry. He had noticed the weary looks he was getting from the other demigods. _Even on the Argo II I'm out of place._

"Nico?" a familiar voice said from behind.

"Hi Hazel," he said without looking back. Hazel stood next to him.

"How are you doing?" she asked concern obvious in her voice.

"Fine."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Oh. Well if you ever want to-"

"Sure." Hazel looked at him carefully for a while before turning and walking away, muttering something about Frank. Great, he had just chased the only person who cared about him away. "Hazel wait," he called through gritted teeth. He didn't have much experience with people, and as a result wasn't much of a people person.

"Yes," Hazel said with a glint of hope in her eyes. Nico took a deep breath.

"Sorry."

"Its fine," she said with a smile, before turning and walking away. This time Nico did nothing to stop her. He sat on the smooth wood, his back against the side. The boat really was well built…

Nico allowed his thoughts to wander. Eventually his mind reached Tartarus, and he flinched. The things he had witnessed in Tartarus were gruesome, and scarring. He would never get over them. It was dark down there, and the screams never ended. The horrible monsters he had seen roaming around were enough to drive a normal demigod insane. Luckily, Nico was no normal demigod. Living amongst ghosts toughened a person up, yet Nico had still been on the verge of madness.

If anyone could pull it off, and survive, it was Percy. And if he had Annabeth by his side, he was unstoppable. Her tactics and plans would be useful, and her presence would keep him from going crazy. Meanwhile, Annabeth needed Percy for backup, and for support. Nico had full faith in them. Probably because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to lead this group.

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a deck of cards and a bag of figurines. Across the deck the word 'Mythomagic' was printed in glittery gold lettering.

He had supposedly thrown these things into a fire, but that had been an act. Nico had wanted to prove that he wasn't just an annoying little kid anymore, and in a way he had almost wanted to impress Percy. He had decided that getting rid of his Mythomagic things was the way to do that, but when the time had come, he was unable to do it. Instead, he had reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of golden drachmas, tossing that in the fire. Percy had bought it.

Now, Nico reached into the bag and pulled out the figurine of Hades. His sister, Bianca, had given him that. She had died because she had gotten it for him. The figurine was his father, it was a connection to his sister, and it was a reminder of his past. Mythomagic was a reminder of his childhood innocence, and his curiosity. He placed the Hades figure next to him, and reached into his bag once again, pulling out Ares. He gazed at it, lost in thought.

"Infinite health for three rounds," he muttered, placing it besides Hades. He pulled out Athena. "Plus 100 knowledge, 3000 attack."

"What are those?" Nico jumped, looked up, and saw Frank standing above him.

"Hi Frank," Nico said hastily, dropping the Athena figurine back in the bag.

"What are those?" Frank repeated, sitting beside him. He picked up the Ares figurine. "Hey, is that the game those Roman Legionnaires play? Mythomagic, I think." He glanced at Nico, a confused expression on his face. Nico looked away, feeling embarrassed.

"Yeah," he admitted. "It's a Greek version."

"Nice. Can you teach me?" Frank asked.

"What?"

"I've seen people playing it before. I want to learn. I'll even learn some Greek gods along the way."

"Are you sure?" Nico said raising an eyebrow. "It's kind of childish." Frank was already shaking his head.

"It's not childish. I've seen college kids playing before. It's really popular at Camp Jupiter." This surprised Nico. At Camp Half-blood, he had been the only one to know about the game. Of course, Camp Half-blood didn't have an attached town, like Camp Jupiter.

"Alright, I'll teach you," Nico said with a shrug. At the moment, there wasn't anything better to do. He picked up the Ares figurine. "This is your dad."

"Mars," Frank said.

"No, this is Greek, remember? This is Ares. He has blood rage and infinite health for three rounds."

"Right…what does that mean?" Frank asked, looking hopelessly puzzled. So Nico launched into an explanation of the game's various rules, and the basic instructions on how to play. He began picking up the different pieces and explaining what each one did.

"This is Apollo. Plus 30 health, and 2000 defense," Nico said holding up the piece. "That's all of them; think you're ready to try a game?" Frank nodded, a determined look on his face. He played all the wrong cards, and Nico beat him easily. Frank looked discouraged.

"I knew I'd be lousy at this," he said, starting to get up. Nico felt bad.

"No, Frank! This was your first time, and you did pretty well," Nico lied. He was surprised by how easily the words came to him.

"Really?" asked Frank, giving Nico an apprehensive look.

"Yes! You just need to work out some strategies. I'll help you." So for the next hour, Nico explained various tips and tactics, even drawing up detailed charts explaining when to use which card. "Got it?" Nico asked when he had run out of things to explain.

"Not at all," Frank admitted.

"What are you guys doing?" Nico saw Hazel lowering herself beside them. Nico tried to tell Frank not to tell, feeling embarrassed once again.

"Playing Mythomagic," Frank said. Nico groaned, and put his head in his hands.

"That game the Roman Legionnaires played?" Nico looked up again and started shaking his head violently, trying to tell Frank to shut up.

"Precisely." Nico groaned, and Frank looked over. "Oh right, its Greek version," he said, smiling widely.

"Is this dad?" Hazel asked, picking up the Hades figurine. Nico nodded. "What does he do?"

"4000 attack power, 5000 if the opponent attacks first," Nico mumbled.

"Is that good?"

"It's 10 times what Dionysus gets."

"Can you teach me?" Nico looked up and saw sincerity in Hazel's eyes. She truly wanted to understand, and build a connection with Nico.

"Sure," he said smiling. Some of the darkness he had felt inside of himself had vanished. He hadn't known Mythomagic would be able to cheer him up so much.

"What are you all doing?" Piper asked sitting between Frank and Nico.

"Learning Mythomagic," Hazel and Frank said in unison. Piper gave them a puzzled look.

"What's that?" she asked.

"A game," Nico admitted sheepishly. Piper didn't give him a strange look. Instead she asked to learn as well. Just as Nico was about to begin explaining, they were interrupted again.

"What are you all doing down there?" Jason said walking over. He sat down next to Piper and Nico, and put his arm around Piper, pulling her closer. Nico had quickly figured out that they were dating, but for some reason this simple action seemed to make Piper uncomfortable.

"Learning how to play the game Mythomagic," Frank said smoothly. "Wanna learn?"

"Sure, why not," Jason said. "I think I've seen the-"

"Roman Legionnaires playing this," Hazel and Frank chimed in smiling. Jason smiled. Nico was about to begin once more, but once again, it didn't happen.

"Having a party, are we?" Leo said walking over, his arms crossed. "You didn't bother to invite the Super-sized McShizzle?" Hazel began laughing uncontrollably at this, and Leo looked pleased. Nico noticed Piper looking almost jealous, as though upset she wasn't in on the joke.

"What's so funny?" she asked coldly. Hazel was too overcome with laughter to respond.

"It's an inside joke," Leo said waving it off. Piper looked highly disappointed by the fact that she wasn't 'inside'. "So what are we doing?"

"Learning how to play the game Mythomagic," Jason said grinning. "You up to learning?"

"Definitely. You guys are going down. Right after I figure out how to play." He turned to Nico. "You may begin professor." He sat between Hazel and Nico, which seemed to make Piper more upset.

Nico held up the Zeus figurine. "This is Zeus. He has-"

"Do you have all the gods?" Leo asked abruptly. Nico glanced up.

"All the major ones and a couple minor. Now as I was saying-"

"Do you have Hephaestus?"

"Yes."

"What does he do?" Nico groaned as he realized Leo wasn't about to shut up so easily.

"2000 defense and 2000 attack," he said wearily.

"Is that good?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, speaking of which, a good strategy is to use Hephaestus and Aphrodite together."

"Because they're married?" Piper asked suddenly. "But they don't get along."

"I don't know why," Nico said shortly. "Maybe Aphrodite and Hephaestus are just a good match. Like Silena and Beckendorf." Nico was surprised to see Piper blush a little at this. He turned back to Leo. "Anymore questions?"

"Nah, I'm good," Leo said grinning. Nico once again began explaining the rules and tips and tactics, referring to the various charts he had drawn up. "Man, you're thorough," Leo said examining a tactics blueprint.

"You guys ready to play for real?" Jason asked glancing around. Everyone murmured assent, and they soon had a pretty intense game going.

"Darn you Leo!" Frank said angrily, as Leo performed a well executed attack. Leo gave him strange look.

"Oh no, not darn! Why do you have to be so harsh Frank?" Leo said, perfectly pulling off a hurt voice. "I didn't know you had such bad language in you!"

"Leo, stop teasing him," Hazel said sternly.

"Yes Ms. Levesque," Leo said in a sing-song voice. Hazel laughed, and Piper looked upset once again.

"Sammy used to say that when I would scold him. Gosh, you guys are so alike." This comment didn't seem to go well with Frank. There was a lot of unspoken tension between all of them. Jason seemed to be the only one who didn't notice anything. Nico wondered why _he_ was noticing. The game resumed, and it ended up being Leo who won. Had Nico been playing, he would have squashed them with experience. Had Annabeth been playing, she would have squashed them with tactics. Had Percy been playing, he would be using Dionysus (weakest card) each round.

"Ha! I won!" He glanced over the cards and figures, a confused look on his face. "Wait…how did I win?" Everyone exchanged confused looks. Once they had begun playing, Leo had almost effortlessly mounted attacks and formed defenses, using tactics even Nico hadn't discovered. He wasn't a son of Athena or Ares.

"Maybe it's like with the helicopter," Piper said suddenly. "You could fly that even though you had no idea what you were doing."

"One problem in your theory Beauty Queen. This is a game, not a machine."

"Well, it can be compared to a machine," Nico said thoughtfully. "I guess all battles can. I mean you have to get the ranks to work together smoothly. They need to work together, almost like gears. Kind of like a machine."

"That's a good point," Hazel mused. "And then, we all have natural battle skills, right?"

"Great. So I can plan how we fight! Now I just need to learn how to fight myself. For some reason, there are a lot of fire-proof monsters."

"Oh come on Leo. You're great in a battle. You just fight in an indirect way. Instead of stabbing and stuff, you use gadgets to get them. It's proven to be useful before," Jason said, a hint of admiration his voice. "And you're not bad in direct battle either. You owned Khione."

"I can't believe I thought she was hot. She's as cold as it gets," Leo said. "I need to work on my judgment. That's why I keep telling you-"

"Leo, I've already told you, I am not setting you up with Thalia," Jason said rolling his eyes.

Leo pouted. "Oh come on, man. Why not?"

"First of all, it's weird. And second, she's a Hunter."

"Wait, daughter of Zeus, Thalia?" Nico asked his eyebrows furrowed.

"How many Thalia's do you know?" Leo said dryly. Nico frowned.

"You like her?"

"Yes. I think I'm in love," Leo said dramatically.

"Oh please Leo. You barely know her," Piper said frowning. "You can't possibly be in love with her."

"Jeez, Piper, I was joking," Leo said, looking at her strangely. Piper turned red. "Stop being so serious about everything."

"Well maybe you should take things more seriously," Piper retorted, "instead of talking about enchiladas and evil espresso drinks." Hearing of Leo's cluelessness, Nico was instantly reminded of Percy's cluelessness, and was about to say something but Hazel beat him to it.

"What?" she said.

"It's an inside joke," Piper said venomously, and Hazel immediately lowered her eyes.

"Piper, what's up with you? You're snapping at everyone," Jason said with concern. "You aren't sick are you?" He reached out to feel her forehead but she pushed his hand away. Now Leo was looking concerned too, and Nico was starting to get confused.

"Pipes are you okay?" Leo asked gently. "Why are you acting so weird?" Piper seemed to be studying him, wondering how much to say.

"I-I don't know," she finally said, averting her eyes. "I'm really tired; I think I should just go to bed. Good night." She started to get up.

"Piper darling, it's four in the afternoon," Leo said matter-of-factly.

"So what?" Piper said sharply. "If I'm tired _now _why can't I sleep _now_? That shouldn't be a problem, should it?" Leo raised his hands in a defeated gesture.

"Alright, sleep well."

"Do you want me to walk with you?" Jason said standing up. Piper looked like that was the last thing she wanted, but she didn't object, allowing him to lead her away.

"Well, I better go see how Festus is doing. Peace," Leo said getting up and walking away. Nico suddenly felt weak, and some of the darkness from Tartarus seemed to be returning. And he was starting to get a headache.

"I think I'll take a nap before dinner," he told Hazel and Frank. They nodded understanding, and then he drifted to his room. He collapsed on his bed, but didn't close his eyes. He was afraid of closing his eyes. He was worried that the haunting images from Tartarus would reappear. Maybe he would even wake up back there. He didn't want that. Eventually, his sleepiness won, and his eyes closed.

As expected, he dreamt of Tartarus, and screamed in his dreams.

**Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think. Am I moving too fast, too slow. Bad version of Nico? I realize Piper may be a bit OOC in this chapter, but that was on purpose. It will be explained next chapter most likely. Thank you for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW!**

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	4. Beauty Queen

Chapter 4 – Piper

It was eight o'clock, and Piper was lying in bed miserably, her stomach growling. She was hungry, and she wasn't sleepy at all. _Way to make a scene, Piper._

Lying in bed for 4 hours had given her plenty of time to think about why she was so irritable right now. It was because of Annabeth. It was stressful to have a friend and companion like her sucked into an endless pit of doom. Was it so surprising she was snappy?

But Piper still knew she had reacted badly, and in a very downgrading way. Now everyone probably thought she was an Aphrodite chick with a short fuse. People would be careful around her. Piper didn't want that. She groaned.

"My life is just one big soap-opera!" she said in exasperation. Then realizing how purely bratty that sounded, she groaned once more. "I hate drama."

Piper was in no mood to make a big scene about apologizing, but she had to eat something, and after lying in bed so long, she needed fresh air. Taking a deep breath, she got out of bed, and headed to dinner.

When she arrived, she saw the others deep in conversation. They all became quiet as she entered, and all of them were staring at her. She felt uncomfortable with all the attention, and awkwardly took a seat between Jason and Leo. She had to say sorry sooner or later, but she decided to hold it off for a while. Jason took her hand, and she felt the familiar jolt of electricity run up her arm. He smiled as he dropped her hand, and the feeling disappeared.

"Are you alright?" Hazel asked, her eyes shining with worry. Piper nodded, and attempted a weak smile.

"Yeah, I think I just got a little sea sick," she lied. This made Leo look very upset, as though he had somehow failed. Everyone looked at her for a while longer, before resuming conversation. Leo started telling a story about one of his foster homes, and everyone else listened, picking at their food. Piper had heard this story before, and it was coming to an end. Finally she realized she needed to apologize now or never.

Yet she couldn't drop a heavy apology on them. She needed something, someone, to lighten the mood. Immediately Leo came to mind. He had gotten her out of awkward situations before, and was a master at diffusing tense atmospheres. She needed his help now. Before he finished his story, she reached out under the table and held his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. She could feel the change in his posture, but he seemed to have figured out others weren't supposed to know about this and continued the story without a break. When he was finished and other conversations broke out, he glanced down at his and Piper's hands. He looked up, and their eyes met. Leo seemed to understand what Piper needed, and gave her hand a squeeze, letting her know he understood.

"Guys," Piper said nervously. The conversation stopped. "I'm sorry for snapping at you all. It's just with Percy and Annabeth gone…"

"We understand Piper. We're all under a lot of stress," Hazel said soothingly.

"Yeah," Leo chimed in. "It's reasonable to get a bit snappy. I mean you're a daughter of Aphrodite who's out on this quest to stop a un-Snow White like Gaea from rising, while battling mountain-throwing giants and evil espresso drinks, _and _your BFF who's a daughter of Athena just fell into a doom pit called Tartarus where all sorts of evil demons and monsters roam, _with _her boyfriend who's a son of Poseidon who may or may not destroy the world," he said in one breath. Everyone stared for a while. "Wow, can you believe this is our lives?"

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, that is pretty sad." He sighed, and yawned. "I better get to bed before I collapse. Nico can I talk to you about some, um, logistic things?" Nico nodded and they stepped outside. Jason paused at the door. "If you need us, we'll be in the stables," he said, clearly oblivious to what he had just said.

Leo snickered. "Thinking of pulling a Percy and Annabeth on us, are you?" he said, referring to the night Percy and Annabeth had spent together. Jason's eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

"W-what? No, no!" he said, shaking his head furiously. Leo smiled evilly.

"What must Piper be going through right now?" he said, shaking his head sadly.

"Shut up Leo, you know that's _not _what I meant," Jason said, looking around. Frank was trying not to laugh, and Hazel was looking scandalized. "Let's go Nico."

"Have fun," Leo called as they left.

"Shut up Valdez!" Leo laughed, and soon Frank had joined in, while Hazel looked around sternly.

"You guys! Grow up already," she said, as she began fanning herself as she had done before. Piper felt a strange sensation when she saw the way Leo was looking at Hazel. It was almost…no, it wasn't that.

"Grow up?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ironic coming from the youngest in the group, don't you think?"

Hazel eyed him defiantly. "I may be youngest in the group, but I'm definitely more mature than you. Besides, although growth wise I am youngest, I was born before all of you." She was beginning to get angry. "I've witnessed things you guys can't imagine. I watched helplessly as my mother died." Tears began forming in her eyes and Frank looked worried.

"Hazel, my mom died too," he said gently.

"But you didn't see it. You weren't there. You couldn't have done anything to stop it. You don't know how it feels!" she in a whisper.

"I do," Leo said quietly. Piper felt horrible, seeing Leo suddenly so downcast. This was the part of him he kept hidden behind jokes and humor. Piper couldn't imagine how it would feel. How it would feel to think the only solution for everything was running away. "I'm going to check on the ship," he said getting up and walking to the door.

"I'll come too," Piper said quickly, getting up so quickly that her chair fell over. She felt herself turning red as Leo stared at her.

"Alright," he said before turning and stepping out of the door. Piper followed him to the front of the ship, where he began talking to Festus.

"Thank you," Piper said suddenly. Leo turned to look at her, his eyes suddenly sad and empty. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "For helping me out back there."

"Why wouldn't I? You're my friend Piper; I would do anything for you. We've been through a lot together, and you've always stuck by me. I owe you that much."

"I know but," she paused, wondering how to continue, before saying, "I've been a rotten friend lately."

"Oh really? Tell me how, or so help me."

"I don't even know what's going on with you," Piper said hopelessly.

"You never have."

"What does that mean?"

"Nobody will ever completely know what's going on with me. I'm not as readable as people think," Leo said, staring straight ahead.

"Hazel seems to know," Piper said bitterly. Leo turned to study her.

"She doesn't know everything."

"She knows more than me."

"Only because she was with me when I met Nemesis and Narcissus," he paused as a dreamy look covered his face. "And Echo," he said in a barely audible whisper. Piper immediately felt her guard go up, and the strange feeling was back.

"Echo?" she said, her eyes narrowing. "Who is Echo?" To her great annoyance, Leo laughed.

"Jeez Piper. First Hazel and now Echo? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous," he said teasingly. He didn't know that he had just struck a nail. That was the feeling Piper had felt. Piper was jealous.

Leo sighed. "Sometimes, I feel like I miss having a friend who I can talk to." Piper gave him a questioning look. "Jason's worried about this whole quest thing, Frank and I…well we can't exactly be called friends, Hazel…well that's complicated, and Percy and Annabeth are gone, and Nico…I don't think that would really work."

"What about me?"

"You're always worrying about Jason."

"I am not!" Piper said defiantly.

"Oh really?" Leo said grinning. He made his voice high pitched. "Jason is _so _hot, Jason is _so_ cute, Jason's scar is _so _adorable! What if Jason doesn't like me back?" Piper's eyes widened.

"When did you hear all of that?" she asked quietly.

"Piper, I've known you for like…forever. You were my first _real _friend. You were the only reason I never ran away from Wilderness School. You were the first one to actually understand me. You accepted me as my flaming, hyperactive, tool-obsessed self." He looked deep into her eyes, causing her skin to tingle. "I can understand what you're thinking. I see the way you look at Jason."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"For not being there for you," Piper said earnestly. Leo started to object, but she stopped him by slipping her hand into his. "You're not alone Leo. As long as I'm around, you'll never be alone. "You and me, Valdez? We're a team." Leo smiled.

"Whatever you say Beauty Queen," he said gently. They stood there for a while, just looking at each other. Suddenly, there was a piercing scream, and the boat shook violently. Leo and Piper exchanged looks before turning and sprinting towards the sound of the scream.

"Leo!" Piper called her stomach churning as she wondered what horrible scene lay ahead.

"What?" he called back. His voice sounded distant.

"I really hope we don't die!" she screamed.

"You and me both," he called back, before they arrived at the sight of the yells and screams. Piper peeked around the corner and froze. She felt her heart sink.

An old friend had come to visit.

**If you read the first version of this, you should find the next chapter familiar. I _did _go through and make a few tweaks, just to make sure everything makes sense, and the ending is different. Update should come soon, since the chapter is already pretty much done :)**

**Do you like this version better? Think I can improve? Leave me a comment! :)**

**REVIEW!**

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	5. An Old Friend

Chapter 5 - Leo

Stupid monsters, and demons, and gods. Leo couldn't hear anything, and there was a strange ringing in his ears. Coach Hedge kept yelling, and Hazel was screaming. Leo heard loud squawking which was either a monster or Frank.

"How do you think Nico's holding up?" Leo asked Piper. Nico was still pretty weak and Leo was starting to worry.

When no response came, he turned and saw Piper looking shocked.

"Chrysaor," she whispered. "Golden Boy, the one with the dolphins. He's back," she said quietly. There was a note of urgency in her voice. Leo tried to figure out what she was talking about, but his eyes clouded up.

"Who?" he asked.

"You were knocked out when he came. He disarmed Percy, tied me and Hazel up, and wanted to kill Jason. Frank knocked him over board. He had a bunch of dolphins with him, and Frank and Percy scared them off. The dolphins were _turned_ into dolphins by Dionysus," Piper explained. "But now we don't have Percy's wit, and this guy is good with a sword. Plus, it looks like the dolphin boys are back,"

Leo peeked around the corner at the deck and his heart sank at what he saw. A man stood on deck wearing a golden gorgon mask, with curved tusks, horrible features and curly golden snake hair. He was dressed in full Greek combat armor with a Greek sword made of Imperial Gold. Strange dolphin-men stood in a semi-circle around him.

"You thought you could just toss me into the sea and get rid of me? I am a son of Poseidon you fools. The sea is my home. You tossing me in their helped me gather even more strength, and this time you all shall suffer," Chrysaor yelled.

Leo saw a parrot flying above unnoticed. Seriously? Frank could turn into a dinosaur, but he decided to go with a parrot? When Leo thought about it though, he realized that a dinosaur might attract too much attention. He saw Jason standing and clutching his sword in front of Golden Boy or as Leo now called him: Mr. Ugly. Coach Hedge was slumped over in a corner. Nico was crumpled on the deck with an ugly bruise on his head. Hazel lay beside him covering him with her body. Her eyes were streaked with tears as she held her unconscious brother.

"I will sell the girl to Circe. I have no use killing such a beautiful creature," Mr. Ugly said. He knelt next to Hazel and grabbed her chin with his hand. He leaned close to her and said, "If I wasn't so busy, I would take you as my bride." Leo felt anger surge through him. He couldn't stand seeing this guy inspecting Hazel like a piece of meat.

Chrysaor turned to Nico. "He can die. And so can the Roman. I will sell the idiotic satyr to some demon. They will find him amusing," he mused. "My dear brother and his friend are gone." Leo knew he was talking about Percy and Annabeth. "Where are the others?" He demanded.

"You'll never find them. You're about to die," Jason said defiantly.

"Oh, am I?" Chrysaor said mockingly. He drew his golden sword and Jason stood ready. Then Jason lunged. They started battle, dodging and swinging. The clang of metal rung through the ship. They did a bunch of strokes with names unknown to Leo. Then Chrysaor flipped Jason's sword into the air and it fell with a clutter only a few feet from where Piper and Leo were hidden. He turned his sword around and brought the hilt down on Jason's head with a sickening thud. He crumpled.

"Jason!" Piper gasped. Thankfully, Chrysaor didn't hear. He brought up his sword to finish Jason off but before he could, Leo walked out. Yeah, yeah, very stupid. Leo was trying to outsmart this guy. Even though Percy already used that trick, Leo was sure he could pull it off again.

Leo stopped on the deck and made a big show of stretching and yawning. "Who keeps yelling? I'm trying to get some sleep," Leo said rubbing his eyes.

"Another demigod to destroy," Chrysaor said evilly.

Leo looked calmly at Chrysaor and devised a plan. He pretended to just notice Jason. "Well, it looks like your good with that sword of yours. I thought Jason was the best but if you beat him, you must be better," Leo said pretending to be in awe.

"Obviously I am better. He was nothing but a warm up."

"Your swordplay is good, but who cares. The reason Jason is a hero, is because he can fight decently and he's good-looking. Girls swoon over him. You're a good fighter, way better than him, but you don't have looks. Wearing an ugly mask makes girls over look you. You're just another one of many demons. They don't notice your true skill," Leo said.

"Why do you think I turned to the dark side? No one appreciated me," Chrysaor sneered. There was a wistful tone to his voice. "What can I do to change?"

Leo shrugged. "Let's start with your walk. You walk stiffly, which is lame," Leo turned to show the stiff walking. While he was turned away from Chrysaor he caught Parrot Frank's eye and understanding crossed. Then he looked at Piper and he saw her nod. Leo turned back to Chrysaor. "Walk like this. More loose and care-free." Leo walked back in his normal way. "You try," he said. He watched with amusement as Chrysaor bounced as he walked. When he turned his back to the parrot, Leo winked.

The parrot flew toward Chrysaor and midway changed into a tiger. It lunged on top of him and pinned him to the deck.

"Trickery!" he yelled. Piper leapt out of the shadows and ran to where Hazel was. She helped Hazel lift Nico and they started towards the hallway. Before they could reach, a bunch of the dolphins leapt in front of them, blocking the way. Piper and Hazel, with their hands full with Nico, could do nothing to keep them at bay, so Leo did the only think he could think of. He yelled 'Flame on!' and set himself on fire, running straight at the dolphins causing them to scatter. The girls continued to the hallway with Nico, and then carried Jason and Coach Hedge away too. The dolphins didn't try to stop them again.

Leo turned to the dolphin dudes. "Chrysaor ain't gonna survive. I suggest you folks swim off before I call on Dionysus," Leo said. The dolphins all turned and jumped over the side of the boat. Leo turned back to Chrysaor.

Tiger Frank had torn through his armor and now he was back to human. He kept punching and kicking him muttering curses. "How…dare…you…touch…HAZEL!" he yelled between punches.

"Listen Mr. Ugly. If you ever set foot on my ship again, or hurt my friends, I will burn you to a crisp. And if you ever treat a girl the way you did to Hazel, I will personally make sure all the female gods make your life a living Hades," Leo said coldly. "You better swear on the River Styx to never get within 100 miles of my ship, and to never bother any of the crew on this ship." He paused, contemplating what else to add, before saying, "You have to swear never to bother any demigod."

"I will do no such thing," Chrysaor spat. Frank punched him in the stomach…hard. Chrysaor gasped as the air was driven out of him. "Punch me all you want, I'll never swear."

Leo formed a ball of fire in his hands, and held it in a ready-to-throw position. "I can burn you now if that's what you want."

Golden Boy's eyes widened when he realized Leo wasn't joking. He glared before saying, "I swear on the River Styx, never to get within 100 miles of this _ship_. Never to get anywhere near any of the crew members, and never to bother any _demigod,_" he spat.

"Now you have ten seconds to get off this ship, before I start shooting fire at you," Leo said venomously. "One…two…"

Chrysaor hastily stood up and scrambled to the edge of the boat, hurtling over as Leo reached 'eight'. Frank stood up and dusted off his hands.

Piper and Hazel emerged from the hallway. "Are you guys okay?" Hazel asked.

"Are you?" Frank asked. Hazel smiled weakly. "Let's go check on the others," he said. The four walked into the hallway to examine the 3 unconscious bodies. As they entered, Nico stirred, groaning in his sleep. "I'll take him to his room," Frank offered, slinging Nico over his shoulder and trudging to his room. Hazel bent over Coach Hedge, who groaned in his sleep.

"He's okay," she confirmed, and when Frank returned he carried him away as well, with Hazel following him. Piper knelt next to Jason, and touched his forehead.

"He's warm," she said with relief. Leo knelt beside her.

"Not _hot_," he said teasingly. Piper glared at him.

"Not the time Leo," she said dangerously. She turned her gaze back to Jason. "He's not moving," she said worried.

"Piper, he'll be fine. He got hurt pretty bad. All we can do for now is give him some Ambrosia and hope he wakes up before we reach the House of Hades," Leo said gently, reaching into his tool belt for a plastic bag with Ambrosia. He grimaced when he saw the powdered remains of Ambrosia. "It got a little squished in there."

"A little?"

"It should still work," Leo said.

"Should?"

Leo sighed before saying, "Piper, you can be so difficult." Piper scowled at him and snatched the bag of Ambrosia. "Didn't anyone teach you manners?"

Piper glared at him before gently tipping some of the powder into Jason's mouth. "Do you think that'll be enough?" she asked.

"Maybe," Leo said with a shrug he knew Piper would find annoying. Sure enough, Piper glared at him even more than before. "You can glare all you want darling, it won't make me drop dead," he said with a cheeky grin. Piper looked like she was about to respond, but Frank and Hazel arrived just then.

"Should I take him to his room too?" Frank asked mildly. Piper nodded and Frank slung Jason over his shoulder, the other three following as they made their way to his room. Once Jason was safely lying in his bed, they all looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"I'll go watch Nico," Hazel said, turning to leave. Piper sat on Jason's bed.

"I'm staying here," she said firmly. Frank turned to Leo.

"You wanna watch Coach Hedge?" he asked hopefully. Leo was already shaking his head.

"Nah man, it's cool. You can go ahead and do it, I don't mind," he said patting Frank on the shoulder. Frank looked taken aback. Leo grinned. "Really man, it's cool." He gave Frank a little push, and Frank stepped out, looking very ruffled. Leo turned to Piper, who looked close to tears.

"Will he be alright?" she asked shakily. Leo shrugged.

"We gave him Ambrosia, that's about all we can do." He patted her gently on the shoulder. "I need to see how Festus is doing; I'll bring back some Nectar." Piper nodded, and looked up at Leo, her eyes shining.

"Thank you Leo."

"What for?" Leo asked.

"Everything," Piper said softly. Leo smiled at her

"Since when are you so sentimental Beauty Queen?" he asked teasingly. Piper shrugged.

"I don't know, but if it doesn't stop soon I don't know what I'll do," she said smiling. Leo smiled back and was about to leave when Jason stirred. He groaned in his sleep, and lifted his hand to his head, moaning in pain. Piper's face was shadowed with worry as she said, "Quick! Get some Nectar!"

Leo turned and raced out of the room. He ran to the supplies of Nectar and Ambrosia, and carefully took out a flask and small cup. He turned to head back to Jason's room, stopping in between to get a quick report from Festus, who was doing fine. When he arrived he saw Jason back in his soundless sleep. Piper gently took the flask and cup, disappointment etched on her face.

"Thanks," she muttered. Leo turned to leave, but Piper caught his arm. "Will you stay?"

Those words meant more to Leo than anything else. Piper wanted him to stay with her. They were still the close friends they were before. For the first time in a long time, Leo forgot that he was the seventh wheel.

He sat next to Piper. "Of course," he said. Piper smiled and took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers.

"Thanks." She rested her head on his shoulder, and Leo smiled to himself. Sitting here with Piper leaning gently on him, felt so _right_. Strange images started to spin through Leo's mind. One in particular stood out. They were at Wilderness School.

* * *

_"Meet me on the roof?" Piper asked. _

_ "Not trying to kidnap me or anything?" Leo said suspiciously. Piper punched him. _

_ "Will you be there?"_

_ "Wouldn't miss it for the world," Leo replied with a grin._

* * *

The image faded, and Leo felt shocked. When had that happened? Was it just a dream?

But something about the word 'roof' stood out to Leo. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Jason stirring. He groaned in pain again, and Piper gently poured some Nectar into his open mouth. He swallowed it with difficulty, and his eyes opened.

"Where am I?"

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed! **

**Also, I'd like to apologize for not being that quick in updating. I'm working on 3 other stories as well, and I've kind of been neglecting them, and then there's also school and family stuff. Not to mention reading. I can't write these without reading :)**

**It's kind of like Rick Riordan says about his books. You can have them fast or you can have them good. I know I'm not even half as good as Rick, but I really am trying. **

**Please Review!**

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	6. A Twist

Chapter 6 – Piper

Piper gave a huge sigh of relief. Jason was okay. She smiled widely before saying, "I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried!"

Jason stared at her with a look of utmost confusion. Suddenly, it morphed into a look of fear. "W-who are you? Where am I? Where's Reyna?"

Piper's smile instantly disappeared. Why was he asking about Reyna? Didn't he know what had happened? She looked up at Leo who was looking just as baffled as she felt. "Can you call the others?" Leo looked hesitant, but he left. Piper turned back to Jason. She tried another smile. "It's okay Jason. Chrysaor is gone. The boat is safe."

"Where's Reyna?" he repeated stubbornly.

Piper frowned. "She's marching towards Camp Half-Blood," she said shortly, not meeting his eyes. She didn't like the sudden change in conversation. She hadn't expected this sudden change of events.

"What's Camp Half-Blood?" Piper looked up quickly. "Who are you? Are you some kind of evil sorceress?" That stung. A lot. She stood up.

"No…I'm Piper. Remember? You're girlfriend!" she said hopefully. Jason was already shaking his head.

"You can't be my girlfriend. I love Reyna." Piper took a step back, stumbling in the process. She felt a strangled yelp escape her lips and her hand clapped over her mouth. She felt water build up in her eyes as tears started to drip down her cheeks. She clumsily made her way to the door and let herself out, shutting it behind her. The first thing she saw was Leo, standing with a concerned expression on her face. He walked over to her immediately.

"Piper, what's wrong?" She just shook her head, unable to speak. Leo looked at her, at a loss for what to do, before he slowly wrapped his arms around her. Piper buried her head in his shoulder and cried, her hands rested on his chest. "Tell me what happened," he whispered, stroking her hair gently.

"He – he doesn't r-remember," she sobbed.

"Doesn't remember what?" Leo asked gently.

"Me!" Piper shrieked. "He doesn't remember me, o-or the ship, or ca-camp half-blood. He doesn't remember the quest, and h-he keeps talking about Reyna!"

Hazel and Frank suddenly appeared around the corner. Leo loosened his grip on Piper but she clung on, not wanting to lose the feeling of his warm arms around her. "Don't let go," she whispered pleadingly.

Leo tightened his grip and whispered back, "I won't."

"What happened?" Hazel said anxiously. When Piper didn't respond, Leo did so for her.

"Jason doesn't remember the quest. He doesn't remember the ship, or Camp Half-Blood, or Piper." Leo paused, thinking. "It sounds like he forgot everything that happened after he lost his memory the first time," he mused.

Hazel's eyes lit up. "He knew me briefly before he disappeared! I'll try talking to him. You guys come too so I can explain everything!" She led the way into the room.

Jason was now sitting up straight, looking wildly around. He looked up as the group entered. "Who are you people?"

Hazel stepped forever. "It's me, Hazel. Remember, from Camp Jupiter?" Realization dawned in Jason's eyes but it quickly changed into suspicion.

"Who are all these other people?"

"They're friends," Hazel said, incredibly calm for someone so young. "You can trust them."

"I didn't know you that well. How do I know I can trust _you_? How do I know you're not a traitor?" Jason said suspiciously. "Bring Reyna here. I want to talk to Reyna."

"I can't," Hazel said calmly.

"If you were from Camp Jupiter, you would be able to bring Reyna here," Jason said sharply, as if this decided the matter. "So clearly, you're a traitor."

"I cannot bring Reyna, because Reyna is not here. You are on a quest Jason, for the Prophecy of Seven. You know what that is, don't you?"

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, to storm or fire the world must fall." He screwed up his eyes as if thinking hard, apparently unable to remember the rest.

"An oath to keep with a final breath," Hazel said helpfully.

"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death," Piper finished weakly.

"I-I still don't know if I can trust you," Jason said, obviously feeling conflicted.

"You really don't remember anything?" Leo asked cautiously. Jason shook his head hopelessly. "You can trust us man."

"How do I know for sure?" Frank suddenly gave a triumphant yell.

"Hazel, remember when Percy did that thing with the water? At that hippie store?" Hazel's eyes widened with realization.

"Right…what's it called…an Iris message!" Piper looked up.

"I think I heard about that at camp…Annabeth told me something about it. You make a rainbow and then…"

"Throw something worth money in it," Hazel supplied. She turned to Leo. "There's a hose in the stables right?" Leo nodded. "Let's go. We'll try sending an Iris message to Reyna! She'll tell Jason he can trust us!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," Leo said raising his hands. "I hate bringing this up, but don't they kind of _hate us_? We – I mean _I_ – kind of destroyed their camp and now their marching up to the Greek camp to start a fight!"

Jason was suddenly on his feet. He had found his sword near his bed and was holding it pointed at Leo. "You destroyed my camp," he growled. Leo looked startled.

"Come on man, I thought we were friends," he said. "Besides, that wasn't exactly my fault. I mean, I was possessed by an eidolon…it happened to you too!"

Jason wasn't listening. "Now I know I can not trust you. Where is Reyna? Where do you have her captured? What are you planning?" He stepped closer to Leo, sword still out-stretched. "I know how to make people talk."

"Jason, STOP!" Piper screamed, putting as much charmspeak in her voice as she could manage. "We'll let you talk to Reyna."

"But Piper," Frank started, but Piper turned on him before he could finish.

"The way I see it," she began in dangerously low voice, "either we risk talking to Reyna, or we allow Jason to turn against all of us. We don't really have a choice." She turned to Jason. "Give you're sword to Frank. We won't hurt you." Jason didn't move. Piper repeated herself but with more charmspeak and this time, Jason reluctantly handed over his sword. "Follow us."

The group walked out of Jason's room and on to the main deck, where the sun was shining. "I'll bring the hose," Hazel offered. She returned a few minutes later with the green pipe trailing behind her. "Frank, will you go turn the knob?" Frank disappeared and Hazel began trying to position the hose. Piper looked at the horizon.

There was a sudden yelp, and she looked up to see Leo soaking wet. Hazel had dropped the hose so it was spraying overboard and was now apologizing furiously by Leo's side. She had taken off her jacket and was attempting to dry him off with it.

Leo, however, wouldn't stop laughing. He was trying to push her arms away but she stubbornly persisted. Finally, he caught her wrists and held them, still laughing. "You should really watch where you spray that thing," he said grinning.

"I know, I feel so –" Hazel started, but Leo cut her off.

"I was joking!" Hazel relaxed slightly. "You didn't need to start rubbing your jacket on me. It's really rough." Hazel looked like she was about to start apologizing again but Leo quickly said, "I was joking!"

"You joke too much," Hazel said, pouting slightly. Leo laughed again.

"You don't like that?" he asked.

Hazel smiled. "Actually, that's one of the things I like most about you."

The whole scene was making Piper a little jealous. It didn't help when Jason whispered, "Are they together?"

"No," Piper snapped. Jason looked taken aback. "Sorry," she muttered. She watched as Hazel stepped back and Leo burst into flames. When the flames died down, he was completely dry. "Are we sending an Iris message or not?" Piper spat at Hazel and Leo, who were both laughing.

"Oh, right," Hazel said smiling. She picked up the hose and deliberately pointed it so no one would get sprayed. "Does anyone have a coin?" Leo dug around in his tool belt before producing a shiny drachma. "We should contact a healer first."

"What do I do?" Leo asked stupidly.

"Toss the coin in," Hazel called.

"What?"

"Throw it into the rainbow," she said, indicating the shimmery rainbow that had appeared in the water.

"Won't it just land on the other end?" Leo asked stubbornly. Seeing the look Piper was giving him, he shrugged and threw it in.

Hazel nodded approvingly and said, "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me…"

"Will Solace!" Leo shouted. Piper vaguely recalled him as a son of Apollo. The rainbow blurred and a weary face appeared in the water. He had sun-kissed hair and blue eyes. He looked up and smiled.

"Leo! Piper! Jason! How are you guys?" Will said, beaming around.

"Hey Will!" Leo called back.

"Where are Percy and Annabeth?" Will asked suddenly. "You did find Percy, right?"

"Oh, yeah we found him. But he and Annabeth sort of…you know…fell into Tartarus…" Leo said awkwardly. Will's eyes widened. "Believe it or not, that's not why we needed to contact you. We've got another problem," Leo said. "Jason…I think he lost his memory. He doesn't remember any of us. All he remembers is stuff before all _this _happened."

Will seemed to be mulling this over. "So…he remembers some parts of his life?" Leo turned to Jason questioningly, and Jason nodded. Will thought for a while longer before saying, "If you ask me, it sounds like he's got retrograde amnesia."

"Retro grenade amnesia…what in Hades is that?" Leo asked.

"Retrograde amnesia. It means he's forgotten certain events from his life. It's often triggered by a traumatic experience. Has anything happened to him lately?"

"Well yeah…he got hit by the end of a sword…and it was pretty hard," Leo said, shuddering slightly.

"Maybe he's been hit by the end of a sword before, and now that it's happened again, he only remembers what happened before the first time he got hit," Will mused. "Hey Jason, have you been hit by a sword before?" Jason shrugged. "Then I guess you'll have to ask someone who was a big part of his life before. They'd know."

"Reyna," Hazel said automatically. She looked at Piper wearily before muttering, "Sorry."

"Is there a cure?" Piper asked, ignoring Hazel. Will shook his head sadly.

"Not really. It's possible that another traumatic experience will bring it back…" Leo's face immediately lit up and Will's eyes widened. "That doesn't mean you go around banging him. Only time will bring recovery."

"You're a son of Apollo! Can't you sing and fix him?" Piper said angrily. Will shook his head sadly. 'Then you're no help!" She strode over and swiped at the image, causing Will's face to disappear. "Call Reyna. Jason join Frank downstairs," she said adding charmspeak. Jason nodded and disappeared down the stairs. Leo pulled out another drachma and tossed it in, without hesitation this time.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Reyna!" Hazel said loudly.

The water coming out of the hose shimmered and Reyna's face swam into view. She seemed to be sitting on the floor, examining some papers. She jumped when she saw the Iris message. She would be seeing Piper and Leo but not Hazel since she was out of view.

"Why are you contacting me?" she said sharply. "We are enemies." She glared in particular at Piper. "I let Annabeth go that one time," she said in a whisper, "I can not do you any more favors." She made to swipe at the image but Piper stopped her.

"Reyna please!" she cried desperately. "Don't you understand? Leo was possessed by an eidolon, it wasn't his fault."

"I do not want to attack Camp Half-Blood, but I have no choice," Reyna said coldly.

"Of course you have a choice!" Piper spat. "You're the praetor; they have to listen to you!"

"It is not that simple. Octavian has everyone in a frenzy. If I try to stop them now, they will think I am on your side. They will rebel and overthrow me."

"Is power really that important to you?" Piper snarled.

"You do not understand," Reyna said dangerously. "If I go out of power, Octavian will be in command. If he is in command, all is lost. Don't you see? I still have some power over him. All he has is his words, but I have a position of authority. If I speak now, I'll lose that and the attack will continue. Octavian is strong now. He has many supporters. I have to wear them down, talk sense into them and gain support before I speak. Then he will not be able to take me down."

Piper was about to make a cutting response but Leo spoke before her. "So, you're trying to slow them down?" he asked hopefully.

"As much as I can without raising suspicions," Reyna said sadly. "I already stopped them from sending a full search party after you. I know you need to complete this quest, but the fact remains that the Greeks and Romans have had an animosity for years. It won't change in a hurry."

"The _Athena Parthenos_…that's what started this whole thing, isn't it?" Leo asked. "But…we found it. We have it!"

"That changes things, but not very much. The Romans are ready for war. They won't calm down just because of a statue. Annabeth would understand this," said Reyna grimly.

"Annabeth's not here," Leo said darkly. "She fell into Tartarus, with Percy." Reyna's eyes widened at this new piece of news. Piper thought she saw a hint of concern. She realized that Reyna had come to like the blonde girl, just as she had.

"Percy is strong. If anyone is well-suited to survive a trip to Tartarus, it's him. And from what I know about Annabeth…she can handle herself as well," Reyna said. "What is it you need my help with?"

"J-Jason…he…he lost his memory. He keeps asking for you." Piper paused, wondering how to continue. "We think he has…um…what was it called?" she asked hopelessly.

"Retro grenade amnesia!" Leo called.

"Retrograde amnesia," Hazel corrected. Leo called back a careless, "Same thing."

"I'm not a doctor," Reyna said sternly. "I do not know what that means." Piper described the situation.

"He was just hit with the hilt of a sword. Has that happened to him before?"

Reyna looked away and when she looked back, her eyes were filled with sadness. "Yes. We were on a quest an-and we were captured." Her eyes became glassy. "They were pirates. Demigod's gone rogue. They said some, well, nasty things and…and Jason got mad. He tried to fight them and they hit him with a sword." She looked as though she were about to say more but was restraining herself. "That must be the last thing he remembers."

"No wonder he keeps asking about you," Hazel mused from behind the hose. Reyna jumped.

"Who was that?" she demanded.

"Hazel. She's holding the hose," Leo explained.

"Levesque?" Leo nodded. "So Jason is suffering from amnesia…what would you like me to do?"

"Just tell him he can trust us. Tell him to believe us, and then we'll explain the rest."

"Alright," Reyna said nodding. Piper could see that his was hurting her. She could see the emotions locked away behind those cold eyes. She felt bad. Wasn't she the one who had caused the pain? Was it right for her to claim Jason, not caring about what other girls it would hurt?

It wasn't, and she knew it. There was a sudden crash below, followed by a yelp of pain. Leo was immediately heading down the stairs. This left Hazel holding the hose and Piper looking at Reyna through the water. She didn't know what caused it so spontaneously but she said, "I'm sorry."

Reyna looked surprised. She didn't ask "What for?" She didn't play dumb and Piper appreciated that. She seemed to understand how hard it was, to say sorry. "He chose you. It was his decision, and I hold no hard feelings," Reyna said coolly.

"He said he loved you," Piper said, tears forming in her eyes. "When he lost his memory, he said he loved you."

"Maybe because he hadn't met you yet," Reyna said emotionlessly. Piper could see how hard she was trying not to get hopeful. Reyna wasn't about to set herself up for heartbreak. Piper wished she could do the same. She wished she could just shut out her emotions and put on a mask like Reyna did. But Piper didn't have those skills. She wasn't a warrior. She was a daughter of Aphrodite.

"I don't know," Piper said shaking her head. There was the sound of grunts and she turned to find Frank and Leo dragging an unconscious Jason up the stairs. "What did you do?" she shrieked.

"Hit him on the head," Frank said shrugging. Piper just about blew up.

"What! You what? Why in Hades would you do that? Are you crazy? He's already had a mental injury! What are you trying to do, get him to forget everything?" Frank shrank back.

"He asked to go back up and I said no. Then he swung at me, so I knocked him out." Piper groaned.

"Leo, give me some of that Ambrosia," she ordered. Leo handed her the plastic bag of crushed Ambrosia and she carefully tipped some into his mouth until he started feeling dangerously hot. Jason suddenly gasped and his eyes flew open.

"Piper?" he said, his eyes wide. Reyna was watching silently. "What happened? Leo? Frank? Why does my head hurt so much?" He got up and caught sight of Reyna through the Iris message. "Reyna? Are you okay? How is everything?" He walked closer.

Reyna regarded him coldly. "You didn't seem to care so much when you returned to camp," she said stonily. Jason looked at her guiltily.

"I know. I just…didn't feel anything then…" he said, averting his eyes.

"Didn't feel anything?" Reyna said. "Probably because of your feelings for Piper. I'm guessing they muffled any old feelings towards me. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm just glad you regained your memory."

"Reyna, no," Jason pleaded. "I don't know what happened then. All I know is that I love you. No one else, just you."

An icy wind seemed to have blown over Piper. She felt something like cold water sliding down her, until all sense of warmth was gone. She was freezing. Her vision seemed to be going bad. She felt dizzy, like she was about to fall. Why was everything spinning? Had the ship hit a whirlpool? She felt a warm hand slip around her shoulders but it wasn't a steadying arm, it was a comforting arm. She turned her head slightly and saw Leo looking at her with concern. She saw Frank looking slightly in awe and Hazel looking immensely worried. Jason was staring at Reyna and Reyna was regarding him carefully, as if wondering whether to believe him.

"How do I know that your feelings are not fake?" she asked.

"What I feel for you isn't fake," Jason said earnestly. "Whatever I felt for Piper was fake."

It stung a lot. Hearing Jason say that was painful. Her numbness had disappeared and was replaced with a horrible stinging sensation. She felt something wet slide down her cheek. She felt her world falling apart around her. Everything was melting away. Everything but Leo, who was still holding her comfortingly. She allowed herself to lean on him, unable to hold herself up anymore. She felt another tear threatening to fall but she angrily wiped it away, straightening up and stepping away from Leo's arm. She swallowed her sobs and stood upright. She tried to force her feelings back, banishing them to the darkest corner of her mind. She forced her face to become expressionless. She would stay strong. She would hide how she truly felt. She would do what Reyna had done and lock herself away.

But it was hard. She forced herself to look back at the Iris message. Reyna seemed to be figuring out whether to believe Jason or not. She jerked her head to the side.

"Octavian is coming," she hissed before swiping at the message and ending the connection. The ship was silent before Jason approached her sadly.

"Piper, I don't know what happened between us. Currently, I don't have any feelings for you other than really strong friendship. I don't know why I thought I loved you, or why I forgot about my feelings for Reyna, but I know that those are true. I hope we can still be friends." Piper squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to open them.

"It's okay," she managed to get out. "Our minds have been kind of fogged up lately, what with Hera messing with them. I understand."

He looked upset with himself. "I'm really sorry."

"I know," Piper said, not meeting his eyes. Attempting to smile, knowing she failed, she said, "No hard feelings." Jason looked at her a while longer.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Piper nodded and an awkward silence descended. Finally, Jason said, "I think I'll go to bed. My head hurts." He left followed closely by Hazel and Frank who were muttering something about bed as well. Piper stood on deck, vaguely aware of Leo's presence. Why wasn't he leaving?

She was about to break down, she knew it. She felt herself losing resolve and then tears started flowing. Leo was there immediately; uncharacteristically quiet, with his arms around her. He was giving her the warmth she so badly needed. Before she could stop herself she was sobbing into his shoulder, unable to stop.

"He said he loved me," she choked. Leo held her tightly.

"Piper," he began wearily. "I don't think it was his fault." Piper immediately pulled away.

"What do you mean?" Leo looked extremely uncomfortable.

"I mean…isn't it possible that your mom kept Jason's feelings for Reyna submerged like with Jason's memories?"

"Why would she do that?" Piper asked even though she knew the answer.

"So you'd get a chance with him," Leo stated. Piper realized that Leo was probably right. It hurt her more. She felt horrible. Was it true? If so, why had her mother suddenly given Jason back those memories?

* * *

_Somewhere in Olympus a few hours earlier…_

Hephaestus entered the room with one goal: To find his hammer. What he saw was his 'wife' Aphrodite smirking to herself with a jar in her hands. Something white and misty was swirling in the jar.

"What are you doing woman?" Hephaestus barked. Aphrodite gave him a sly smile. "What's in the jar?"

"Emotions," Aphrodite said mysteriously.

"Drop the act, what are you up to?"

"You're aware of our children's quest?" Aphrodite asked. Hephaestus nodded. "Zeus' son, Jason, I took his memories."

Hephaestus grunted. "Didn't Hera already do that?" Aphrodite gave a silky laugh.

"Not _those _memories. His emotional memories! I stole his feelings for that Reyna girl!"

"Why?"

"So that Piper would have a chance with them."

"WHAT? Do you realize how UNFAIR that is? To Reyna, to Jason, even to your daughter!"

"How?" Aphrodite asked.

"She'll be living in a relationship where the other boy doesn't return her feelings! Another girl will be living a miserable life! How could you stand doing such a thing?" Hephaestus said with disgust.

"You're…right," Aphrodite said in disbelief. "Since when have you come to understand human emotions?"

"I've been watching my son, Leo. Now do the right thing and release those emotions so they can return to their rightful owner." Aphrodite gently twisted the lid and the white mist swirled away. "Thank you. Now, have you seen my hammer?"

* * *

_Back on the Ship, forward in time…_

Leo had eventually forced Piper to go to bed, and she had fallen asleep instantly. She had a dreamless night, except for an image of a mischievous looking Latino boy who kept popping in the way.

* * *

**Super long chapter followed by a super long A/N! At least it felt that way when writing it. I tried to find a way to break it up, but just couldn't find a good spot to do that! Hope you all enjoyed it! Now, if you're time is short, skip this next part and just write a REVIEW!**

**To those of you who have been reviewing, thank you so so much! You're reviews are so inspiring, and they push me to do better! **

**And now, I'll squeal about the fact that their are just 80 days till I get to read Son of Sobek, plus, a sneak peak of the House of Hades! Yup, their a package deal. Not to mention it's being released on the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! TWO things to look forward to! So, yeah, super excited. Already got a countdown ready. **

**This is going to be the longest 80 days of my life!**

**Next chapter will be...Reyna, and next A/N will be shorter, hopefully :)**

**REVIEW! (I'll skip the arrow thing for now, just review the story, please!)**


	7. Healing

Chapter 7 – Piper

**Piper, not Reyna. Sorry!**

Piper woke up feeling relatively calm. Thick, fluffy covers were piled up around her and she felt very warm. As if nothing cold would ever touch her. She enjoyed the feeling. Something was wrong though. There was something missing and when she thought hard, she realized what it was. Jason wasn't hers anymore. He never had been. She waited for the rush of cold to hit her, bringing all of her sorrow back, but it was as if the warmth surrounding her was pushing it back. She stayed warm. She decided that she would stay in her room under the warm covers all day, maybe forever. She wouldn't join the others for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. She would just stay in her room, thinking, mourning and locking herself away from the outside world. Yes, that's what she would do. The idea was blissful. Just staying in her own little bubble, where she could think at her leisure and daydream. She could imagine her perfect world without anyone giving her a reality check. It would be perfect. She gave a sigh of relief and turned underneath the thick blankets. The soothing silence was a blanket of its own. She lazily opened her eyes and then, she screamed.

Leo was leaning back on a plush blue armchair with his feet up on a small coffee table, fiddling with something in his hands. He looked up when she screamed and grinned. "Glad to see you're awake!"

"Leo!" Piper shrieked, sitting up straight and clutching the blankets around her, even though there was no reason to do that.

"That's my name!" Leo said cheerfully.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sitting."

"How did you get in here?"

"The door," Leo said indifferently, getting up easily and sitting down on the bed with Piper. "Now if you're done asking stupid questions, you need to get ready so we can head down to breakfast."

Piper chose to ignore this. "Why are you here?"

"To make sure you don't ditch. I know you were probably planning on spending the entire day in your room, under the covers, maybe even crying a little," Leo said knowingly. "And I'm here to make sure you don't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because, my dearest Beauty Queen, staying holed up in your room isn't good for your mental or physical health. I know it's nice to live in your own little bubble but Gaea and her forces aren't gonna let your bubble float by. They're gonna pop it and if _they_ pop it, that's a problem. If _I, _your good friend, pop it then it'll still be okay. And I just popped it." He grinned and stood up, walking to the door. "Now, come on."

"I have to get dressed Leo."

"You're already wearing clothes."

"Pajamas," Piper said slowly.

"They're still clothes, but whatever. I'll wait outside."

"I'm locking the door," Piper said, unsure of why she was telling him this.

"No you won't. I'll be guarding the door, I won't let anyone in. You have 10 minutes," he said looking at his watch, which looked very futuristic. "After that, I'm opening the door, no matter what state you're in."

"Why can't I lock the door?"

"If you lock it, there's no guarantee that you're coming out," Leo said simply. "I'm starting the timer."

"Leo," Piper protested, but he was already closing the door. She hurried to get dressed, pulling on a pair of old jeans and a plain dark blue shirt. She braided a few strands of her hair in the front in record time and threw the door open. Leo was smiling his annoying smile.

"You still had 3 minutes." Piper was about to go back into her room but Leo grabbed her wrist and pulled her out. "Oh no, you don't," he said, pulling her along the hall.

"I – forgot – shoes," Piper said struggling against his surprisingly strong grip. Her feet felt cold against the wood.

"Fine," Leo said, releasing her so suddenly that she fell.

"Leo," she said angrily, picking herself up. "I am going to kill you." She turned and stalked back to her room. She pulled on her old sneakers and contemplated locking the door. Deciding that it would be pointless, she walked back to join Leo. "Please don't make me face the others," she pleaded.

"It's fine Piper, I'm here with you," Leo said, taking her hand and pulling her to the dining hall, where he pushed her into a seat before taking the seat next to her. Hazel was on her other side and Frank was across from Hazel.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked gently. For a moment, Piper forgot about her jealousy towards Hazel and was sincerely grateful for the younger girl's concern.

"Yeah," she said with a weak smile. "How is Nico doing?"

"He became conscious last night but has a really bad headache. He's resting in his room," Hazel informed. Hazel looked up suddenly and glanced nervously at Piper. Piper turned and saw Jason walking in and taking the seat across from Leo. There was a heavy silence in the room. Piper stirred her cereal.

"Are you feeling better?" Leo asked, effectively breaking the silence.

"Just a little headache," Jason said. "Listen guys, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I got all of my memories back now, so it's all okay." He paused and looked around. "I'm really sorry Piper."  
"No, I'm sorry. All of this happened because of my meddling mother," Piper said, feeling the eyes on her. "She-she kept your feelings for Reyna hidden so…so I would get you. It was wrong for her to do that. Our whole relationship was wrong."

"It's okay," Jason said. "As long as we stay friends."

"Of course," Piper said smiling. She still felt strange and a little sad, but she felt considerably better.

Once breakfast was over, everyone went their separate ways. Hazel went to be with Nico, Frank was once again tricked into taking care of Coach Hedge and Jason had gone to take a well-deserved nap.

"I think I'll just go to my room," Piper told Leo, getting up. Leo stopped her.

"No you won't. You're sticking with me today."

"Why?"

"So you don't lock yourself in your room," Leo said getting up and leading Piper to the front of the boat, where he began a conversation with Festus. Once he was done with that he began examining a number of maps, a GPS system, and his Wii remote. He started pounding away on a keyboard, leaving Piper wondering what he was doing. After about 10 minutes of this, Leo said, "I forgot to welcome you."

"What?"

"Welcome," he said, straightening up, "to the Singles Club."

"The Singles Club?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've been a member for life!" Leo said smiling. "And you'll probably be here until we finish this quest, because there isn't a big market on the Argo. Jason's out, Nico doesn't seem like your type, Frank…well I guess you could try…"

"No." Piper said firmly. "You're just saying that so Hazel is available." Leo smiled.

"Jealous?" Piper glared at him. "Maybe not…anyway it isn't that bad. It was worse for me." Piper looked at him questioningly. "When you're a single and all the couples are off together, it can get lonely. Since you have a fellow single right here, that won't happen. And I won't get lonely either!"

"I don't want to be in your stupid club, Leo," Piper whined.

"Come on Piper. You don't need a boyfriend to be happy. There was a time in my life, not so long ago, when I was miserable because I didn't have a girlfriend. Now, I've come to realize that you don't need a girlfriend to be happy! You lived your life before Jason didn't you? You can live it after him!" Leo ranted. "I know it'll be a little harder for you to accept, being a daughter of Aphrodite and all."

"Fine," Piper said, realizing Leo had a point. "I'll be the second member in your club."

There was a loud creak from the front of the ship. "Festus says he's single too," Leo translated. He leaned in closer to Piper and whispered, "But I'm pretty sure he's having an affair with the Hephaestus chariot."

"Really Leo?" Leo nodded. "What about Buford?"

"Buford is happily married to his Lemon Pledge with extra moisturizing formula," Leo said immediately. Piper laughed. Leo had everything figured out.

"What about your tool belt?"

Leo gave her a strange look. "Don't be stupid Piper; my tool belt is an inanimate object."

"And Buford isn't?"

"He has a name, therefore he is alive. Besides, to be in a relationship you must have feelings. Festus clearly has feelings and Buford has feelings as well. He proved that when he got upset over me using Windex."

"Lemon Pledge doesn't have feelings," Piper said triumphantly.

"So?"

"So…never mind," Piper said, giving up hope of having an intelligent conversation with Leo. He once again began messing with the various pieces of equipment. Piper watched with mild interest. "Can you teach me?"

"What?"

"How to work the ship."

"Why?"  
"So I know how to work the ship," Piper said simply. Leo still looked puzzled. She sighed and said, "There's nothing better to do."

Leo smiled. "Okay student. Remember, I am the teacher, so during our study sessions call me Professor Leo."

"Professor Leo?" Piper scoffed.

"What do you need Piper?"

"That's not what I…never mind." Leo grinned.

"Okay. The first thing you need to learn is how to talk to Festus. Be warned, he's a chatterbox." He leaned in and whispered, "And he's actually quite boring. He just loves the sound of his own creak." Piper laughed and soon Leo was explaining what the various creaks and whirr's meant. Once Piper had gotten the basics of that, he explained that Festus spoke in Morse code sometimes and began teaching her how to make sense of the tapping.

"Okay, let me try," Piper said smiling and tapping out a message. _Hi, this is fun._

"Um, Piper, you just said 'Hi, this is love'." Leo said, turning a little red. _It is, it is! Whoa, where did that come from?_

"Oops," Piper said laughing. "Show me how to tap 'fun' again?"

By lunch time, Piper couldn't stop laughing. Her mood was much lighter than it had been in a while.

The others were in high spirits too. Nico was feeling better and his eyes had lost some of their dead look. Nico feeling better seemed to make Hazel feel better, which made Frank feel better as well. Jason was looking refreshed and seemed to be feeling better as well. Leo wouldn't stop grinning in his cute way. _Whoa! Cute? When did that happen? I'm losing it, I'm losing it! Leo is not cute! Actually he kind of is but that's beyond the point. _

"Shut up Piper!" _Oops. _Those last words were not supposed to be said out loud. Everyone's eyes were on Piper. She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to disappear. "Sorry," she muttered, staring down.

"Um…okay," Jason said. "Let's talk about the Great Prophecy." Everyone murmured agreement.

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call," Frank said. "Well that's us."

"To storm or fire the world must fall," Hazel said. "Storm could be Jason or Percy, or maybe even both. And fire…" Everyone looked at Leo.

"So…I may destroy the world after all…" he said uncomfortably.

"Not necessarily. These prophecies are always twisted," Piper assured. "An oath to keep with a final breath. And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"The last line makes sense," Jason mused. "But the third one could be anything. Man, my headache is coming back, see you guys later," he said, hurriedly leaving.

"Mine too," Nico suddenly said, hastily leaving as well. Hazel followed him looking concerned and Frank followed her. Leo got up and walked to the door.

"Coming?" he asked Piper. She got up and followed him to the deck. A cool breeze was blowing.

"Thanks for taking my mind off all…_this_," Piper said, stepping closer and hugging him. She didn't release quickly. She liked having his warm arms around her. And then a memory popped up in her head. A memory she hadn't seen before.

* * *

She was at Wilderness school, walking to the lunch room. Leo was standing there waiting.

"Hello Pipes," he said, grinning when he caught sight of her.

"Meet me on the roof?" Piper asked.

"Not trying to kidnap me or anything?" Leo said suspiciously. Piper punched him playfully in the arm.

"Will you be there?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Leo replied.

"Okay, tonight at 11," Piper said in a whisper. Leo nodded, and the scene shifted.

* * *

Leo was standing only a few inches from her. His face was extremely close. Then he was leaning in. He was about to kiss her, but the scene dissolved.

* * *

Piper was back on the Argo, hugging Leo. She stood still, completely shocked. It had been Leo. The one on the roof, the one in the most romantic moment, was Leo. She pulled away. Leo must have noticed the change because he asked, "What's wrong."

"Nothing," Piper said. She decided that she would forget about what she had just seen. "Finish teaching me?"

"Of course Pipes," he said, leading her over to Festus.

_My life is seriously messed up._

* * *

**Okay _next _chapter will be Reyna. Sorry, I just wanted to fit this in and it had to be before Reyna and...yeah. Reyna next. Octavian will make an appearance along with some stuffed animals. :'(**

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	8. The Queen

Chapter 8 – Reyna

Reyna sat in an empty conference room, tapping her fingers on the smooth wood. She needed to put a stop to this. As much as she was unsure of the Greeks, she knew that they had to work together in order to defeat Gaea and her forces. They were a bigger threat than fellow demigods. And what Percy had said was true. They had always been on the same side. They were always working together, even if they didn't know it.

But Octavian was a bigger obstacle than she had expected. He had rallied up more supporters, this time without fear or blackmail. He was using their anger against them. The Romans had been furious after the events at Camp Jupiter and it was easy for Octavian to whip them into a war frenzy. For the first time, he had bluntly spoken out against Reyna. He had blamed her for the entire mess, saying that it was her ignorance that had brought this upon them. He told her she was too trusting and naïve to hold a position as praetor. He had insisted that they immediately march upon the Greek camp but the final decision was left upon Reyna. She had no choice. Everyone was ready for battle and if she said no, they would think she was being soft on the Greeks. They would call her weak and ignorant and eventually overthrow her. Octavian would be named leader of the camp, and that would cause nothing but trouble.

She knew speaking out now and talking sense into them wouldn't achieve much, but at this point she had no choice. Octavian was keen on having the attack staged the next day. She would have to speak now. She looked up as Octavian entered the room, looking extremely smug with a knife in one hand and a purple bear in the other. He placed them carefully on the conference table and turned to look at Reyna. She chose to ignore him.

"I hope you are not trying to talk us out of attacking the Greeks," he said. Reyna glared at him with her piercing dark eyes. "Come now, there shouldn't be any problems in our relationship. No secrets."

"Dare I ask what you're talking about?" Reyna asked sourly. Octavian's blue eyes were shining with curiosity.

"Well, it's common practice for the praetors to develop feelings between each other," he said, leaning in extremely close. It was repulsive, and Reyna leaned away. She was tempted to stick her dagger into him.

"May I remind you, that you are _not _praetor?" she said cuttingly. Octavian's smug look vanished.

"Then who is? Is it Percy, who appeared and allowed the Greeks into our camp, claiming they were harmless? Or is it Jason, our praetor who disappeared and returned with an army of Greeks to destroy the camp?" he said, straightening up. "You should have listened to my auguries Reyna."

"And you should listen to me Octavian," Reyna said. "I will not allow Camp Jupiter to fall into your power-hungry hands."

"Are you trying to say I don't care for the camp?" Reyna was about to respond, when the Centurions entered the room. There was only one Centurion from the fifth cohort since Frank had left and there hadn't been time to replace him. She looked around at the standing demigods before saying, "sit." The sound of scraping chairs broke the silence as the Centurions took their seats. Octavian remained standing. Reyna regarded him coldly. "That includes you Octavian."

He sat down. "We should plan to attack tomorrow," he announced. "I shall first check the auguries as is custom." He picked up his knife and drove it into the heart of the purple bear. He cut down and examined the stuffing. "Yes! We have all good signs! We shall march upon-"

"That is not for you to decide," Reyna said coolly. She still had some followers left and she hoped that they would come through for her. "We are rushing into this. Normally, I would agree upon attacking the camp after what they did to us, but current circumstances must be taken into account," she said, getting up and walking around the room.

"What kind of circumstances?" Hank, from the Third Cohort, asked.

"I am guessing that you all are aware that the Giants are rising? Being raised by Gaea herself. Who is a bigger threat, the Greeks or the Giants?"

There was silence before Kim, from the Third Cohort, spoke up and said, "The Giants, obviously. They threaten to wipe out all of humanity and civilization. They plan on overthrowing the gods. In fact, they are a common enemy between us and the Greeks. We should not forget that the Greeks are demigods just like us. They are in danger from Gaea as well, and they will fight her as well." Reyna nodded appreciatively at her. Kim was on her side.

"Which brings me to my next point," she said, gaining confidence with each word. She got up and began pacing.

"If you will," Octavian began.

"I _will _continue speaking, Octavian. You may wait your turn," Reyna said icily. His nostrils flared.

"You are still on the side of the Greeks, Reyna. You have become weak. Admit it."

"I agree. Why else would you keep trying to protect them? I propose that we vote Reyna off as Praetor." Larry said, slamming his hand on the table.

"Don't be ridiculous," Dakota said. He was much more serious than usual, since Octavian had cut off his supply of Kool-Aid. Dakota didn't take it well and now hated Octavian. He had pledged allegiance to Reyna, saying that he would like to treat Octavian the way he treats stuffed animals. As much as Reyna hated to say it, cutting off the Kool-Aid was one of the few things Octavian did that she agreed with. "I say we remove Octavian as a Centurion."

"If you will, Dakota, I believe it is _your _Cohort that has been brought to shame at the moment. If any Centurion is to be removed, it should be you," Octavian replied.

"Enough," Reyna said, her voice slicing through the air. "If we are to fight and defeat the Giants, we need help and support. The Greeks will provide that. In order to win this upcoming war, we must gain allies, not enemies. If us demigods are busy killing one another, how will we defeat the forces of Gaea? A house divided, can not stand."

"Ha! As if you can just-"

Reyna raised a hand to silence Octavian. "Need I remind you, of the prophecy, augur? Need I remind you of the gods warning? Greeks and Romans must work together in order to win this war. Would you rather win against the Greeks, only to be crushed by the Giants? If we battle, there will be many losses on _both _sides. What do you think? We'll march in, spear them all, and march out without a scratch? The number of demigods will decrease severely. We won't stand a chance against Gaea! Don't you understand the threat she poses?"

"They destroyed our camp. Need I remind you?" Octavian growled, his eyes glittering with anger. "The boy turned on us."

"_The boy_ is named Leo," Reyna said coldly. "And you shouldn't forget that he is part of the quest to save our camp. At this very moment he is risking his life in order to protect us!"

"Then why did he open fire on us?" Octavian demanded, standing up.  
"That wasn't him," Reyna said through gritted teeth. "That was an eidolon that had possessed him, so we would attack. Do you think Gaea is a fool? She knew that she could start a war between us and the Greeks, leaving only a few demigods to stop her. You are playing right into her hands. I would expect more wisdom and insight from you, _augur_."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that it's times like these when I start to wonder if you truly have the gift of prophecy or not," Reyna said sharply. There was a sudden flash behind her and the jaws of the Centurions dropped. She spun around and found someone (certainly a god) standing there. He had long, golden hair which seemed to be blowing in a wind that was not there. There was a laurel on his head. He was wearing a long robe, and in one hand held a lyre and in the other a cup of what appeared to be nectar. Reyna recognized him as Apollo.

"He most certainly does," Apollo said in a voice as sweet as honey and as pure as silk. "He is a legacy of mine, is he not?"

"L-Lord Apollo," Octavian said, stepping forward and dropping to the ground at his feet. The others simply bowed. Then the image of Apollo flickered and was replaced by a teenager with sandy hair and modern clothes. He clutched his head and groaned.

"I hate when that happens," he growled. The Centurions stared ahead, not understanding what had happened. "I have just switched from my Roman form to my Greek form," he explained, "and hopefully, that doesn't mean you will attempt to attack me."

"O-of c-c-course not," Octavian stuttered, eyes wide and skin paler than usual.

"You share the same gods, and the same enemies. You have to work together to win this war, that is for sure," Apollo said lightly. "Do not let something like different time periods and slightly different beliefs come between you."

"Of course, Lord Apollo. It will be as you say," Octavian said, bowing so low that his nose was almost touching the ground.

"I suggest you listen to your leader," Apollo continued, gesturing to Reyna, "Even if you two do not approach a problem the same way. Do not let me down Octavian." With that, Apollo started to glow and the demigods turned away, shielding their eyes. When they turned back, the god was gone.

"You heard him. There will be no battle," Reyna said authoritatively, grateful for having a respected god on her side.

"So we'll be heading home tomorrow?" Kim asked.

"No. We will march to the Greek Camp," Octavian's face lit up, "and make peace."

"What! You want to make friends with the _enemy_?" Octavian shouted in disbelief. Reyna turned to him.

"Maybe it didn't pass through that thick skull of yours Octavian, but Apollo just told us that we have to work together. And for that, we need a declaration of peace. We will go talk to the Greeks tomorrow. All Centurions will come along. Is that clear?" There were murmurs of assent from around the table. "You are dismissed."

The sound of scraping chair and footsteps broke out, until only Octavian and Reyna were left in the room. Octavian looked furious.

"You are not making the right choice, Reyna."

"And you are?" she asked cuttingly.

"Do you think I do not care about our camp? Do you think I do not care about our people?" Octavian asked, breathing heavily.

"I am sure you care, Octavian. But you're methods aren't always correct. I know you fear the Greeks, but this is the right decision. Apollo himself has confirmed that. What else will it take to convince you?" Octavian looked away, a bitter look on his face. "You will come with us tomorrow. And don't try to pull anything, or you will be relieved of your Centurion and Augur duties. And I'm sure Apollo would have something to say too."

"Of course, _your praetorship_," Octavian said, bowing mockingly and leaving the room. Reyna sank back down onto the plush chair, the silence enveloping her.

She had a lot of thinking to do.

**Sorry about the late update. I think next chapter will switch back to the Argo, and then after that it'll go back to the Reyna stuff for one chapter. Let me know what you think!**

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	9. The Mechanic Closet

Chapter 9 - Leo

**So sorry for the late update. I'm making up for it with some sweet [hopefully] Liper moments. I originally thought this would be a one-shot, but then I thought that it could be a really good chapter for this story. Enjoy!**

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"Why, do I have to come with you?" Piper whined as she followed Leo through the ship.

"Um…I forgot," Leo said absently. "But I know that I need those spare wires to make the heating and cooling system work better."

"Why does it even matter? Percy and Annabeth are in _Tartarus _and you're worried about what temperature the ship is?" Piper argued.

"Hey! Just because they're uncomfortable, doesn't mean we have to be."

"You are so stubborn," Piper said, narrowing her eyes.

"Am not!" Leo protested.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"_Am not,_" Leo said, and to his dismay, Piper laughed. "What's so funny?"

"We sound like 5-year-olds," Piper said smiling. "I mean listen to yourself!"

"No, _you _listen to yourself," Leo shot back, though this time he was trying to be funny. They both started cracking up, and Leo was reminded of the way they used to laugh back in Wilderness School. The thought of Wilderness School reminded him of some…other things. Certain dreams he had been having, but he was starting to suspect that they weren't dreams.

"Sometimes I miss Wilderness School," Piper said, as though reading his mind. Leo grinned.

"Me too. Then I think about the food, and I think…maybe it's better this way." Piper punched him playfully. "Ah, look we're here!"

They were standing in front of a silver metal door, with _**Mechanic Closet **_written on a golden plaque. This was where all the spare materials were kept. Whenever Leo was bored, he would come in here and build stuff with the various materials.

"I never knew this was here," Piper mused.

"Most people don't," Leo said with a shrug. "It's kinda like my Leo Cave. Almost like my portable Bunker 9."

He turned the golden knob and bowed, gesturing for Piper to enter. She rolled her eyes as she walked in. Leo followed her inside, shutting the door behind him. He saw Piper staring at the shelves and boxes filled with supplies.

"How do you find anything in here?" she asked.

"Skill," Leo said, rummaging around in a box labeled _**Wires. **_"It's organized because of Nyssa. I don't label." He pulled a coil of red wires out and smiled. "Found it, let's get out of here."

Piper nodded and walked to the door, placing her hand on the knob. She turned it, but it didn't move. "It's not opening," she said, turning to look at Leo.

"Ha ha, very funny Beauty Queen. Let the master handle this," Leo said, walking to the door and trying the knob himself. It still didn't move. "Oh my gods, it's not opening!"

"Way to go, _master_."

"Oh, don't mock me!" Leo snapped, trying the door knob furiously. He pushed his ear against the door and tried to listen. He heard a familiar _tap-tap_ and realized what had happened. He turned to Piper. "Buford locked us in," he announced.

Piper snorted. "Buford, your table? Really Leo? Since when can tables lock doors?"

"It's a push button door Piper, you just push the thingy and the door is locked. Buford could've easily banged his top against it, causing the door to lock," Leo said systematically.

"Can we open it from inside?"

"No. That's kind of the point of locking a door from the outside. Theirs no way to get out."

"So we're stuck here until Buford lets us out?" Piper said in disbelief.

Leo snorted. "Don't be ridiculous Pipes. Buford's a table. He can't unlock doors."

"He can lock doors, can't he?" Piper replied.

"Yes, but to unlock the door, you must turn the knob. Something Buford is not capable of."

"So we're stuck here!"

"Until someone lets us out, yes. The thing is…most people don't know about this place…"

"Leo…" Piper said slowly, "what do you mean by that?"

"I mean…Nico couldn't possibly know about it, and I never showed Frank or Hazel or Jason," Leo said thoughtfully.

"So no one knows about this place," Piper said, her voice rising several pitches.

"Well…Annabeth knows."

"What use is that? In case you haven't noticed, _Annabeth is in Tartarus_!" Piper spat. "Now what?"

"Relax Beauty Queen. Buford will find a way to tell people where we are, and we'll be free," Leo said, waving it off.

"And when will he decide to tell people?"  
"I'm not sure…Buford doesn't really have a sense of time."

"Well why did he lock us in here? Did you use Windex again?" Piper accused. Leo raised his hands in a 'surrender' motion.

"I swear I didn't. He must have some ulterior motive."

"Ugh! I can't believe I'm stuck in a closet with _you!_" Piper complained, kicking the wall.

"Alright, I'll just pretend that didn't hurt," Leo said icily. Piper turned to look at him, and he was struck by her beauty. He played with the idea that maybe, possibly, the dream he had had the night before had been true. Maybe it really had been _him _who kissed her on the roof. Just as his dream had suggested.

"You know I didn't mean it like that," she said softly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"You sure about that?" Leo asked emotionlessly. Piper walked closer to him and gave a weak smile.

"Yes, I am sure. There's no one I'd rather be stuck in a closet with," she said, taking his hand. And then, there was a white flash, and when it finally disappeared, Leo saw one of the halls from Wilderness School. He instantly knew that this was a memory.

* * *

_He turned and saw Piper walking after him._

_ "Why do I have to come with you?" she whined. _

_ "Um...'cause we're friends!" Leo answered. Piper rolled her eyes. _

_ "Where are we going anyways?" she asked. _

_ "It's a surprise," Leo answered. There was the sudden sound of footsteps, and Leo exchanged a look with Piper. "In here," he said hurriedly, pulling her through a door to the side. "Hide!" _

_ They inadequately hid themselves behind a bucket, and heard the footsteps of Coach Peterson, their coach who was pretty much blind. "Why is the closet unlocked," he said aloud. He looked inside and peered around. Clearly, he couldn't see, because he just nodded and shut the door. Piper exhaled sharply. _

_ "That was close."_

_ "No kidding," Leo said, standing up. Piper walked to the door and tried to open it. _

_ "It's not opening," she said, turning to Leo. _

"_Ha ha, very funny Piper. Let the master handle this," Leo said, trying the knob. It still didn't move. "Oh my god, it's not opening!"_

_ "Way to go, master."_

_ "Don't mock me."_

_ "So…we're stuck here?" Piper asked. _

_ "Pretty much."_

* * *

The image fast-forwarded and Leo and Piper were sitting next to each other on overturned buckets.

* * *

_ "This is torture."_

_ "No kidding." Piper frowned and reached out her hand, hesitantly taking Leo's in hers. "Is there any reason why you're holding my hand?" Leo asked casually. Piper blushed. _

_ "Well, if you don't like it," she said, pulling her hand away. She seemed disappointed when Leo didn't stop her. After a brief moment of silence, Leo took her hand. "Any reason why you're holding my hand?" she asked. _

_ "Well, if you don't like it," Leo said, starting to pull away, she stopped him. _

_ "I don't like this game," she whined. "Let's do something else." _

_ "Like what?" Leo asked. _

_ "I dunno." They were still holding hands, and suddenly, they both seemed aware of how close they were. Then Piper began to lean in. They were centimeters apart when the door to the closet suddenly burst open, revealing a very angry Coach Clink. _

_ "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? GO BACK TO BED RIGHT NOW!" he roared, knocking Leo off of his bucket. He and Piper scrambled out of the room and up to the dorms. Soon they had to part ways. Leo turned down his corridor, and halfway down, he turned back and saw Piper. She looked like she needed to talk about something._

* * *

Fast forward again and they were back in the cafeteria, reliving the same scene Leo had seen twice now. But there was more this time.

* * *

_He was in the lunch room. He saw Piper walking in. "Hello Piper," he said, grinning._

"_We need to talk. Meet me on the roof?" Piper asked._

_"Not trying to kidnap me or anything?" Leo said. Piper punched him playfully in the arm._

_"Will you be there?"_

_"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Leo replied._

_"Okay, tonight at 11," Piper whispered. "I really need to talk to you."_

* * *

And then the memories stopped. Leo realized what was happening. His memories were coming back to him backwards. Newer ones first. He looked over at Piper and saw her looking wide-eyed. No more denying it.

Leo walked over to a corner and picked up two buckets, flipping them over and putting them next to each other. He sat on the orange one and patted the green one, telling Piper without words to sit down. She did, though hesitantly.

"This is torture," she announced.

"No kidding." Piper's eyes widened, and she looked afraid. Finally, after what seemed to be a mental argument, she reached out her hand and took Leo's. "Is there any reason why you're holding my hand?" Leo recited. Piper's eyes flickered.

"Well, if you don't like it," she said softly, pulling her hand away. She didn't seem surprised when Leo didn't stop her. After a brief moment of silence, Leo took her hand. It was like they were running through a play, he thought. "Any reason why you're holding my hand?" Piper asked.

"Well, if you don't like it," Leo said, starting to pull away, and right on cue, she stopped him.

"I don't like this game," she whispered. "Let's do something else."

"Like what?" Leo said, whispering too.

"I dunno," she breathed. And then they were both leaning forward, as though this were rehearsed. They were close, very close, when the door to the closet swung open. This time, revealing a very angry Coach Hedge.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? GO BACK TO BED RIGHT NOW!" he roared, sending Leo toppling off his bucket.

"But it's 2:30!" Leo protested; something he wouldn't dare do to Coach Clink.

"THEN TAKE A NAP!" Coach Hedge yelled. "OR DIE!"

"I think a nap sounds good," Leo offered, glancing at Piper.

"Agreed," she said. The two hurried out of the room. They only spoke one they were outside of Piper's door. "Leo, we need to talk."

"I know."

"Meet me in the stables?" she asked.

"Not trying to kidnap me or anything?" Leo asked. Piper punched him.

"Will you be there?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Leo said with a grin.

"Okay, tonight at 11," Piper whispered, before walking into her room and shutting her door, leaving Leo thinking furiously.

Maybe it had to do with being related to the Gods, who seemed to love repeating things, but he had a very strong feeling of déjà vu.

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**So next chap. is Reyna, then we'll see what's going on in the stables. Sorry about late updates...but I dunno what happened...I was kind of knocked over with all of these ideas this week. I have a brilliant [I think] idea for my 'Camp Demigod' story, and I have 2 new ideas for one-shots! Expect lots of Liper from me!**

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	10. Camp Half-Blood

**Chapter 10 – Reyna**

**I'm a horrible person. I am so sorry. Extra long chapter + some old friends + Harry Potter references = me trying to make up for being an awful, inconsiderate person. I REALLY DID TRY! Expect some Jayna moments. SOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Sorry for any typos/errors, it's late and I'm TIREDDD! MY EYES AREN'T WORKING, I'M SEEING COMMAS EVERYWHERE! AHHHHH. **

**You should probably start reading now...**

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The Roman Centurions marched up the hill that led to Camp Half-Blood. They were about to cross into the territory of the people they had so long referred to as 'the enemy'. Needless to say, Reyna was nervous. Octavian's muttering about how this was a stupid plan had yet to cease. They party reached the top of the hill and stopped. Reyna looked out at the camp spread before her.

Strawberry fields, various cabins, arena, lake, and plenty of space. This was definitely a camp. She spotted her destination. A large house painted baby-blue with white trim. The Big House.

"We're going there," Reyna announced to the group, pointing towards the building.

"But Reyna, what if they attack?" Hank asked.

"You may defend yourselves. Do not fight back," Reyna said curtly. "Please do not give them a reason to attack," she added, shooting Octavian a sharp look. Octavian just glared at her. "Raise the white flag."

The symbol of truce was raised and the group began marching again. There were shouts of alarm from campers as they saw them. They ran forward with weapons, and a few were wearing hastily strapped on armor.

"Don't attack! They're here on truce!" someone yelled. The campers stopped and formed a pathway towards the Big House. There was no turning back. Reyna continued to march. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the steps of the Big House. A centaur was standing there, waiting. There was silence. Neither side seemed to know what to say.

"Hello," the centaur said. He said it kindly, but there was also a steely note in his voice. He looked middle-aged, and from the waist down he was a pure white stallion. He had thinning brown hair and a scruffy beard, along with bushy eyebrows and brown eyes. "I take it you are from Camp Jupiter."

"Yes," Reyna responded. She felt some of her confidence draining, but she forced herself to stand tall and sound as though she was sure of herself. That was what she always did. "We wish to offer peace, and form bonds between the two camps. After all, we must work together in order to fight the impending battle against Gaea. There is no use fighting amongst ourselves."

"And, you are?" the centaur asked.

"Reyna. Daughter of Bellona, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, and Senator of New Rome."

"Very well." He cleared his throat and said loudly, "There will be a Senior Council now, please inform the counselors or substitute counselors." He lowered his voice again. "Follow me. You may bring your…"

"Centurions," Reyna supplied. She turned to them. "Follow, and do _not touch anything._ Behave yourselves, and please, do not mess this up." She turned back, nodding at the centaur as they began walking. He led them into the house and into a room with a ping-pong table in the center. It was surrounded by folding chairs.

"Would you mind pulling up some more chairs," the centaur said, gesturing to some in a corner. The centurions – who only took orders from a praetor – didn't move.

"Go on," Reyna prompted. They nodded and began pulling up the chairs. Octavian stayed back. "That includes you Octavian." He still didn't budge. "That's disobeying direct orders from the praetor. Would you like to be stripped of your centurionship?" He glared at her, but went to pull up a chair.

"You can sit," the centaur said, turning to the Romans. They glanced at Reyna, who nodded, before sinking into chairs. "I should probably introduce myself," the centaur began, "My name is Chiron. I am the activities director here at Camp Half-Blood. As I'm sure you've figured out, I am a centaur." There was the sound of rapid footsteps and then the door to the room burst open.

"We're here Chiron," a girl announced. She was tall and strong-looking, with stringy brown hair and pig-like eyes.

"Thank you, Clarisse, please take a seat." The girl, Clarisse, flopped down on a chair, as many others filed in. Clarisse fixed her piggy eyes on Reyna.

"You're those Romans, aren't you? The ones who took Percy?" she said with extreme dislike. Reyna frowned.

"We did not take him, he showed up. Just like Jason showed up at your camp. You didn't take _him _did you?"

Clarisse shrugged. "Who's your godly parent?"

"Bellona," Reyna replied. "Goddess of War."

"Funny. My dad is Ares, God of War." She was now looking at Reyna with new interest. "I guess we're not that different, huh? Maybe you Romans aren't all that bad. I have to say, I like your brutal philosophies."

There was the sound of heavy footsteps and then another girl burst through the door. She was tall and thin, with frizzy red hair, green eyes, and a lot of freckles. She was wearing a shirt several sizes too large, with words so faded that they were unreadable, and jeans that were covered in paint, marker, pen, and holes. She had the face of a person who loved to talk. "Sorry I'm late," she breathed, as she took a seat on an empty chair. She glanced at Reyna. "You must be the Roman."

Reyna didn't like being referred to as 'The Roman'. "And you must be the Greek." The other girl just grinned.

"Actually, no. I'm a mortal, but I can see through the Mist, so I became the Oracle." She looked like she was about to say more, but Chiron cut her off.

"We can save the introductions for later. Right now, we have an important matter to discuss," he glanced at Reyna and nodded to her, telling her without words to begin speaking. She opened her mouth, about to start speaking, when there was a clattering sound and yet another person burst through the door. Reyna saw that it was a faun – satyr as the Greeks called it – who was looking very concerned.

He was tall, and he had curly brown hair with small horns sticking out a little bit. He had a wispy beard and brown eyes that looked afraid.

"What's – going – on?" the satyr asked, trying to catch his breath. "I heard – the Romans – came. And what – happened to – Percy? I can – feel – something is – wrong."

Reyna frowned. Apparently, the satyr hadn't heard the news. "We will get to that later," Chiron said gently. "Take a seat. This is Reyna, Praetor of Camp Jupiter, the Roman Camp." Reyna nodded slightly.

"Oh…you had Percy for a while, didn't you?" the satyr asked. "And then he – why does he always have to get himself in so much trouble. Why him?"

"Praetor Reyna, this is Grover," Chiron introduced. "He is a good friend of Percy's and a leader of the Council of Cloven Elders, as well as Lord of the Wild." Grover blushed as Chiron named his titles. "And now, if you would like to explain why you are here."

Reyna took a deep breath and said, "We have come to offer peace. There is no point in us being enemies. We are on the same side. We should work together. We Romans have agreed upon this, now we just need your agreement." There was silence, and then Clarisse spoke.

"I'd rather fight you, but we don't have a lot of time for that. We have other people to fight. It's in our best interests to become allies with the Romans so we can team up and fight our common enemy." The room was silent and everyone was staring at her.

"Clarisse…that is the most peaceful thing I have ever heard a child of Ares say," Grover said, looking at her in shock. "Where did that come from?"

"Shut up tree-hugger," Clarisse snapped. "I'm a daughter of war, and war involves tactics, and alliances are a tactic, which is why I know about them. Contrary to what a lot of you believe, I'm more than just brute strength."

"Did Clarisse just use the word 'contrary'? I didn't know she had the brain capacity to use words like that," a boy said. He was tall and had a mop of curly brown hair that was falling onto mischievous blue eyes, as well as upturned eyebrows and a crooked smile. Sitting next to him was someone who looked exactly the same, except he was a bit shorter.

"You better shut up now Travis, unless you want me to take my spear and-"

"Stop this at once!" Chiron commanded, looking around at the campers as though they had failed him. "We have visitors asking for peace, and you all are arguing like little kids. This is a serious matter."

"Sorry Chiron," Travis said, dropping his gaze.

"Now, we'll take a vote amongst campers to see if we accept the peace-offering or not. All for it, raise your hands." To Reyna's relief, everyone raised their hands. "Good, then it is decided. Now, we will go announce this to the camp and see if anyone had any objections. Come on now."

Everyone got up and walked out of the room and on to the porch of the house. They lined up in a row. Chiron brought out a conch shell and blew into it. Their was the sound of yells and within 5 minutes, the entire camp was standing in front of the Big House, waiting to see what had happened.

"It has been decided that we shall make peace with the Romans," Chiron bellowed. "Anyone with any objections should speak now." Nobody said anything, until…

"I OBJECT!" Reyna spun around and saw Octavian, fists balled and shaking with rage. "I OBJECT!"

"Octavian, what are you doing," Reyna hissed. "I told you not to interfere!"

"NO! I refuse to build an alliance with these…these…_Greeks. _I still have some dignity, and I will not allow it to be thrown away like this. The Greeks shall die! We shall burn their camp to the ground! They are an obstacle, they are a danger! They attacked our home!"

"That was an accident, Octavian, and you know it," Reyna said. "Now, unless you want to be punished severely, you will _shut up_."

But the damage had been done. After Octavian's scene, the Greeks were all muttering and whispering to each other.

"No way are we forming an alliance with them!" someone yelled. "They're lunatics!"

"SILENCE!" Chiron bellowed, stamping his hooves. The camp fell silent as Chiron turned to Reyna. "I thought you're camp had agreed."

"Yes, but…" she faltered. "Chiron, please, we have to be at peace. Apollo himself told us, and who would know better than him?"

"I know that," the centaur said gently. "And I will make sure it happens."

"No way!" someone from the crowd yelled.

Chiron raised his voice. "Apollo himself has said that peace between the camps is necessary. Are any of you willing to challenge the god of prophecies?" The camp fell silent and the red-headed girl from earlier stepped forward.

"It's true. I'm getting this feeling…we – well, you - have to put aside our – your - differences and band together. It's the only way to stop Gaea." The girl turned to Reyna and gave her a look that screamed _say something!_

Reyna stepped forward. "I promise you, people like Octavian," she pointed to the augur, "will not be allowed to run wild. They will be kept in check, and possibly removed from any position of power. We will do everything we can to protect your camp, and will only hope that you are willing to do the same shall the need arise."

The camp still seemed hesitant, so Reyna pressed on.

"If some of the most powerful Greeks and some of the most powerful Romans can stay together on a ship, fighting off dangers sent their way, why can't we? If they can do that, why can't we offer peace to one another?"

"Listen to her," another voice rang out. The crowd moved slightly to reveal a girl with spiky black hair and a silver circlet. She was radiating an aura as she moved to the porch of the Big House. Her eyes were electric blue, and they were so very much like Jason's, Reyna felt a pang in her heart. "I'm Thalia Grace and I'm Greek. My brother is Jason Grace – most of you know him – and he's Roman. If a Greek and a Roman can be siblings, why can't you all get along?"

"And we should not forget all that Jason has done for this camp," Chiron added. "He has proved his loyalty."

"And the same goes for Percy Jackson. He supported our camp when we were in trouble, and has shown that he is loyal to our camp as well as yours. Both of our leaders have made it quite obvious that we should learn to live in harmony. What more will it take to convince you?" Reyna said, gaining confidence with each word she spoke.

"So, I will ask you again. Does anyone have any objections to peace with the Romans?" There was silence. Long, drawn out silence, until finally, Chiron said, "Very well. The Romans are now officially an ally, not an enemy. Let's celebrate our newly forged friendships!"

"Party time!" someone yelled, and soon the demigods were running around throwing together a celebration. She was introduced to so many new people; she couldn't keep track of all the names. Nyssa, Drew, Mitchell, Lacy, Harley, Lou, Clovis – who was half asleep when he introduced himself, Malcolm, Will, Butch, and many more. Eventually Reyna was able to excuse herself. She really hated parties.

As she was walking towards the beach, Reyna heard the familiar infuriating voice of Octavian. Great, this would be the perfect time to _murder him_. She continued walking until she reached the spot where the ground turned to sand. She walked towards the outlined figures, sand crunching underfoot. When she arrived, she saw that Octavian was not alone. Standing next to him was the red-headed girl, Rachel. Reyna froze. What was going on here?

"-so it's in our best interests, isn't it?" Rachel was saying. "Come on Octo – can I call you Octo?"

"No," Octavian answered briskly. "Now go away. I don't like speaking to filthy Greeks."

Rachel sighed. "Come on Octavian. How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not Greek; I'm a mortal who can see through the Mist."

"Even worse than a Greek, a mortal."

"And being a Roman is so great? What do you think Octavian? That whatever you are is automatically superior? That Roman demigods are better than mortals and Greek demigods? Better than everyone? You know everyone who's had that kind of mindset had turned out to be some psycho dictator. You're no better than Hitler."

"Stop talking to me," was Octavian's answer.

"After all this time I've spent talking to you, do you even know my name?" Rachel asked, ignoring Octavian's request.

"No, and I have no intention of ever learning it."

"Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare is my name."

"I won't be remembering it," Octavian said sourly.

"Well I'll be remembering yours," Rachel said determinedly. "You're an augur, I'm an oracle. We should stick together. You know, compare prophecies once in a while."

"Go away."

"You know what Octavian? I didn't have to do this. I could've just turned around and walked the other way when I saw you sitting alone on the beach. But I didn't. I'm trying to be a friend to you, and you're just denying me because of your prejudice. You think I enjoy trying to have a conversation with someone who doesn't seem to care in the slightest? I really don't, but I thought you could use someone to talk to. That's just the kind of person I am. A Luna Lovegood level _luna_tic."

"I really don't care about you and your Loony Lovegood."

"Luna Lovegood," Rachel corrected. "She's a character from _Harry Potter_. Like so many other normal mortals who have time to read, I'm a complete and devoted Potterhead."

"Then go read them now and _leave me alone_," Octavian hissed. Rachel, finally realizing that talking to Octavian was getting her nowhere, turned on her heel and began walking away. She froze when she saw Reyna. Out of the corner of her eye, Reyna saw Octavian get up and walk away, probably to find a new sulking location.

"You were watching all that?" Rachel said, finally breaking the silence. Her green eyes were staring at Reyna with so much focus that she felt as though she were an open book. It was a little unnerving, the way Rachel seemed to be able to see everything so clearly. Rachel sighed and sat down on a rock. "Are all you Romans like this? I mean, so prejudiced and against Greeks and mortals and any non-Roman in general? I mean, I was just trying to talk to him and-" her voice broke. "It's not easy, being the Oracle, you know. I don't really fit in anywhere. I'm not a demigod; I can't do any of the cool stuff the people here can do. I can't control water or come up with good plans. I don't fit in here. People are _afraid _of me. Not because I'm mortal, but because I'm an Oracle. The Spirit of Delphi used to be trapped inside a mummy, and I mean, it is pretty creepy when I give a prophecy."

Reyna listened, not knowing what to say.

"And I don't fit in at the mortal world either. They don't know what I am but they can tell something is off. Mortals are smarter than you think. They know that I'm not…normal. And I try and fit in, I really do, but I can't. Not anywhere. You know how demigods are sort of stuck in between Olympus and the Mortal world?"

Reyna nodded.

"Well I'm stuck too, but I don't have an entire camp with people like me that I can talk to. I'm the only Oracle, it's not like there's an elite group of us. I can't ask for advice from anyone or anything," Rachel continued. "I mean, I know Percy cares, but he's a guy. He wouldn't understand how a girl feels or thinks. And then there's Annabeth, who's actually really nice after she gets over thinking that you're out to steal her boyfriend," Reyna felt a pang of guilt at that, "but she doesn't understand either. Nobody does. The closest I've come to being understood is with the Apollo cabin, but medicine bores me, I have no writing or musical ability, and I couldn't use a bow and arrow if my life depended on it. The only thing I have in common with them is art and the whole prophecy thing, but they still don't completely get it."

Not being understood. That was something Reyna was only too familiar with.

"That's why I got…excited, when I saw Octavian. I thought maybe he would understand. Maybe he would be someone I could talk to. But no," she said bitterly. "Sorry, I just, needed to let it out, tell someone, you know. I mean, I barely know you and I just spilled all my life's worries. I guess I shouldn't have kept it bottled up so long." Reyna sighed and sat down next to the red-headed girl.

"You don't need to apologize. I know a thing or two about keeping feelings bottled up." Rachel nodded her appreciation. "So, you've read _Harry Potter_?"

"Yeah, when I'm in my cave with nothing better to do, no one better to talk to than characters in a book. It's lonely there. Books are my only constant companion. It gives me something to talk about in the mortal world. Being a demigod, I suppose you don't have much time to read."

"My sister, Hylla, is Queen of the Amazons. They run the online store Amazon," Reyna explained. "She sends me things often. Books, most of the time." Rachel tilted her head to the side.

"Why doesn't she just send you a Kindle?"

"That's the tablet you read on, right?" Reyna asked tentatively. Rachel nodded. "She offered me one, but I turned it down. I like _real _books. The feel of the slight weight in your hands and the way the page rustles when it's turned."

"Apparently a lot of people agree with you. I for one, prefer the Kindle. Guess I'm a techie," Rachel smiled. "So, I spilled my heart out to you. Time to let you get some things off your chest."

"Maybe some other time," Reyna said, shaking her head. She still wasn't ready to share her own story. Rachel nodded.

"Whenever you're ready," she said with an encouraging smile. There was silence, and then Rachel seemed unable to bear it any longer. "So, you've read the _Harry Potter _series, right?"

Reyna noticed for the first time that she talked extremely fast. "Yeah, I've seen the movies too."

"Cool," Rachel said, lapsing into silence again. "So who's your favorite character?"

"Hermione Granger," Reyna answered promptly. Rachel nodded.

"I guess I was expecting that." The girls turned as they heard someone approaching. Reyna saw Grover the satyr trotting towards them.

"Hello," he greeted, sounding nervous.

"Hi Grover," Rachel said smiling. She glanced at Reyna. "I have to go back to the mortal world. Dad will throw a fit if I don't show up for dinner. It was nice meeting you Reyna. I hope we can talk again soon," she said, getting up and walking away. Grover sat down on the rock that she was sitting on before.

"Uh, hi, Reyna." He bleated nervously. "Um, Chiron said you could tell me what, uh, happened to Percy." He looked worried. Reyna shifted restlessly, not wanting to deliver the bad news. Reyna had talked to Jason the night before, and he had explained in detail what had happened.

"Well, Annabeth was following the Mark of Athena, to find the _Athena Parthenos. _She was led to Arachne's lair, where Arachne was keeping it." Grover gasped.

"B-but, Annabeth is terrified of spiders." Reyna nodded grimly.

"Annabeth outsmarted her, but while Arachne was defeated Annabeth began taunting her. In rage, Arachne brought the whole chamber down, opening a pit straight into Tartarus. Arachne fell in, but some of her web got caught around Annabeth's ankle and she was pulled to the edge. By this time, the others had arrived with Nico and they were securing the _Athena Parthenos_. Percy grabbed Annabeth, but the others were too far to be able to help, and Annabeth was being pulled in. So they both fell into Tartarus. Together," Reyna said. She found it amazing that someone could love another person enough to go tumbling into the darkest pits of hell with them. If there really were people like that, she had yet to find hers.

Grover bleated in alarm, and then he keeled over. Reyna saw that he was still breathing. Apparently, the news had been so shocking to the satyr that he had fainted. Deciding that it wouldn't be very nice to leave him lying there, and not wanting to return to the celebrations anyway, Reyna settled down. The light was getting dimmer, and the sun was getting lower. The air turned a hazy pink, until everything was enveloped in a dark blue. The moon was large and low, tinted yellow and emanating golden light.

Reyna loved sunsets. When she and her sister had been at C.C.'s Spa and Resort, they would always sit together and watch the sun slowly transform into the moon. It had always intrigued her. She had so many memories related to sunsets that watching one seemed to tell the story of her life.

* * *

"_Hylla," Reyna began as the sun disappeared behind the line separating the earth from the sky, "what's behind the line?"_

"_It doesn't matter," Hylla answered. "We're happy here. We don't need to know what else there is."_

"_But I want to know," Reyna persisted. "I want to see the rest of the world."_

"_Don't talk like that. We should be grateful for what we have. We've been given a lot here."_

"_Yes, Hylla," Reyna said solemnly. "But why do we only take care of the girls that arrive on the island? What happens to the boys?"_

"_They turned into guinea pigs," Hylla answered bluntly._

"_But, why?"_

"_Because men are pigs, they take advantage of us girls. They have to be punished," Hylla responded. "Promise me you will never get caught up with a boy."_

"_I promise."_

* * *

_"Why are you taking me up here?" Jason asked as he followed Reyna. _

_ "To show you something."_

_ "What?"_

_ "Be patient and you'll see." They reached the top of the hill and Reyna pulled Jason down so they were both seated side by side on the grass._

_ "I don't see anything but a whole lot of grass," Jason grumbled, stretching his legs out. _

_ "You're looking at the wrong place. Look up, at the sky. At the sun." Jason did as she said. The sun began its descent, leaving a ribbon of pink, purple and orange behind it, and then it disappeared behind the distant horizon. The sky got darker until it was a rich blue, and the moon appeared, full and bright. It reminded Reyna of a circle of parchment, because of the yellowish color. Jason was quiet. _

_ "That was beautiful," he said softly after a while. Reyna nodded. "But still not as beautiful as you." Reyna pushed him lightly. _

_ "Stop flirting," she scolded, though in all honesty, she liked his sweet comments. Jason smiled. _

_ "Stop being so beautiful," he answered smoothly. Reyna could feel herself blush. She turned to look into his blue eyes, and she was reminded of her conversation with Hylla so long ago. She had promised to never fall for a boy. _

_ But Jason was different, Reyna told herself. He would never hurt her. Casting away the doubts, she rested her head on Jason's shoulder. _

_ She didn't know that somewhere in Olympus, Hera was plotting something._

* * *

_ He was gone. Missing in action. He had just…disappeared. Reyna hugged her knees as she sat on the hill where she had once sat next to Jason. She wished he were there. She could sense that something big was brewing. As if Jason hadn't been through enough. She watched the sun dip, and the moon become prominent in the dark. It was the same large, coin shaped, golden moon that she had watched with Jason next to her. When would they get a break?_

* * *

Reyna gazed at the moon hanging in front of her. It was so low; it seemed that someone would be able to touch it. The silence of the night was broken by the sound of light footsteps. Reyna turned and saw a small and petite figure marching towards her. Through the moonlight, she could clearly make out her features.

She had an elfish face, framed with wispy amber-colored hair. She was wearing a green chiton and sandals. Her green eyes were sparked with suspicion. Her eyes were flickering between Grover – who was sprawled out on the grass – and Reyna, who was now standing to face the girl.

When she was standing right next to Grover, she began to wail. "I knew it, I knew it. I knew he wasn't fulfilled with me. He found someone else!" she sobbed. At the loud noise, Grover sat up straight, bleating in alarm.

"Juniper!" he said when he saw her. He made a move to put his arm around her, but she reeled back.

"How could you Grover? I loved you, but you…with a – a _human_?" Juniper said in disgust.

"No, Juniper, it's not like that. Reyna was just telling me what happened to Percy and Annabeth," Grover said hurriedly. Juniper looked skeptical.

"Likely story," she said, turning away. Grover opened his mouth and closed it again, at a loss for words. _Time to step in, _Reyna thought glumly.

"Juniper," she said, in her most commanding voice, "I was just telling Grover what happened to Percy and Annabeth. They fell into Tartarus, and when I told Grover, he fainted. I didn't think it was a good idea to leave him here alone, so I stayed. That's all." Juniper blinked.

"They fell into – into Tartarus?" Reyna nodded. "Oh no," Juniper whispered, she swayed a little, and Grover rushed forward to steady her.

"Jun, are you okay," he asked cautiously. Juniper shook her head.

"They'll – they'll be okay, right?" she stuttered.

"I don't know Juniper," Grover said sadly. "None of us do."

"I don't know Percy or Annabeth too well," Reyna broke in softly, "but I know enough to know that if anyone is able to survive Tartarus, it's them." Grover looked at Reyna.

"Then I guess you know them better than you think," he said quietly. "Thank you, Reyna." He took Juniper's hand, and they walked away silently, leaving Reyna to think.

She had yet to find her own true love, who would go through anything for her. Do anything for her. But, was it possible that she had already found him? Was it Jason? She remembered her Iris Message conversation with him from the night before.

* * *

"_Reyna?" Jason said._

_ "Yeah," Reyna answered. _

_ "I'm really sorry."_

_ "For what?"_

_ "For forgetting you," he said earnestly. Reyna looked down, not meeting his eyes. _

_ "I have to go now," she said softly.__r._

_ "Wait! Reyna, I just – I want you to know that…I love you." And then he swiped through the message, leaving Reyna alone, with a warm feeling glowing inside of her._

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**Soooooo, what'd ya think? TELL ME, TELL ME NOW! REVIEW! (so I'm encouraged to write faster.)**

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	11. In the Movies

**Chapter 11 – Piper**

"You're late," Piper whispered as Leo walked over to meet her in front of the stables as planned.

"Sorry, had to wait for Coach Hedge to pass," Leo apologized. "Let's get inside before he threatens us with death." Piper nodded and walked inside, fumbling for the light switch. When the light flickered on, she continued walking in. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going, and she tripped on something, falling onto the hay that (thankfully) cushioned her fall. "How'd you fall? I could walk backwards and still not fall," Leo said boastfully. Piper heard muffled footsteps, the sound of a foot hitting something, and a cry of panic, and then Leo fell on top of her, facing up so they were back to back. Piper choked on some hay.

"Ouch.

Leo just laughed. "Well, this is wrong."

"Dare I ask what you mean by that?" Piper asked hesitantly.

"Apparently you do dare," Leo said. Piper could practically hear the grin on his face. "I'm saying that we fell wrong."

"We weren't supposed to fall at all!"

"Yeah, but we did fall. You're supposed to be facing up, and I'm supposed to be facing down so that we're face to face," Leo explained, rolling off of her. Piper rolled so she was facing up like him.

"And why is it supposed to be like that?"

"Because that's how it happens in the movies!" Leo exclaimed, as though this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, this isn't a movie."

"True…but it could be. I mean look at all that's happening. We've got heroes, we've got action and adventures, we've got romance, and we've got humor!"

"I guess our lives could be transformed into a pretty good movie," Piper mused.

"So, if our lives are being made into a movie, would that include this conversation? It'd be a movie about us talking about a movie being made about us. Well I guess now it would be a movie about us talking about a movie about us talking about a movie about us. Well now-"

"Sure," Piper interrupted, not wanting him to continue his rambling. She turned her head so she was looking at him, still lying down. "I'll pass the idea on to dad."

"I was just about to suggest that it should star Tristan Mclean, alongside the hot, charming, smoking, incredibly funny, Leo Valdez, making his debut!" Leo said, grinning at the ceiling. "Oh, and then there's Piper too." She scowled at him.

"There's this amazing thing Leo, it's called _shutting up_. You should try it some time," she said dryly. Leo just laughed.

"Anyway, as I was saying, in the movie, they always land so they're face to face," Leo said, turning the conversation (if you can call it that) back. "Here I'll show you." He rolled over so that he was now hovering over Piper, propped up on his arms. Piper felt herself heating up, thought that might have been due to the fact that Leo radiated heat. "See? This is how they always land in the movies," Leo said, barely above a whisper.

"Hmm, really?" Piper said, trying to keep her voice even, though the close proximity with Leo was making her head spin. "And then what happens?"  
"You should know, you're the movie gal," Leo said softly. "But I'll tell you anyway. Then, the girl and the boy gaze into each other's eyes for a long time, oblivious to the world around them."

"Oh," Piper said weakly.

"That won't be too hard," Leo laughed. "Anyone could look at your eyes for hours just trying to decide what color they are."

"Well someone could look at your eyes for hours too!" Piper said, as though it were an insult.

"Nah, my eyes are plain old brown, just like a good portion of the world," Leo said indifferently. Piper shook her head.

"You're eyes are not _plain brown_."

"Then what kinda brown are they?"

Piper thought over this for a while, before saying, "Fiery brown." Leo laughed.

"C'mon Beauty Queen, have you ever heard of 'fiery brown'? How is brown supposed to be fiery? I can understand 'burnt brown' though something burnt would be more black…" Leo trailed off. Piper glared at him.

"Why do you refuse to take a compliment?" she said exasperatedly. "I'm only saying that your brown eyes have a fiery glint to them."

"Then you should have started with that," Leo said with a wide grin. Piper rolled her eyes, and there was silence, filled only by their breathing. The heat that Leo was radiating was starting to make her feel flustered, along with the fact that he was only centimeters from her.

"You smell lemony," she said stupidly.

"Yeah, I was polishing Buford earlier," Leo answered playfully.

"Leo, please don't tell me you perfume yourself with cleaners," Piper said, crashing back to reality. Leo just smiled.

"Well, I don't clean Buford everyday, so no. And _perfume _myself?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Have you been using the deodorant?" Piper asked accusingly. Before getting on the ship to head off to the other side of the country to meet with a large camp full of dangerous demigods unexpectedly (no biggie), Piper had given Leo a small brown package. As anyone receiving a gift would have, Leo had ripped it open to be presented with…a stick of Axe.

"No, I didn't," he said, unashamed. "I lost it." Piper exhaled, noticing that some of his curly hair shifted a little as she did so.

"I knew you would lose it. Good thing I brought more," she said with a triumphant smirk. "I have a few more Axe, a couple Old Spice, a fair amount of Gillette-"

"Gods," Leo muttered. "What if I don't use it?" Piper just glared at him dangerously, and he nodded having gotten his answer. He was still on top of her, and as they were silent their eyes met. _Just like the movies. _Piper felt as though she were in a trance as she looked into his brown eyes. Yes, there was definitely a fiery glint there.

"Leo? What happens after the girl and the boy gaze into each other's eyes?" Piper asked quietly, not breaking eye contact.

"Well, they fall in love if they're not already in love. And then, they're interrupted by some idiot."

"And if they're not interrupted?" Piper whispered. Her arms were now around his neck. "Then what happens?" Leo started to look uncomfortable.

"Whatever they want, I guess," he said nervously.

"And what do they want?" Piper asked. Leo just stared at her, dumbstruck. "Leo," Piper began, starting to wonder what she was doing, "kiss me."

"W – _What?_" he stuttered, eyes wide. "Piper, what are you saying?"

"Kiss me," Piper repeated, getting impatient.

"Piper," Leo began warily, starting to heat up. _Now or never. _Using her arms that were wrapped around Leo's neck, Piper pushed herself up from the ground and pressed her lips into his. The hands that he had been using to hold himself up immediately dropped to her waist. Piper's head began to swim. She didn't feel this way when she kissed Jason. He sent electricity running through her, making her feel almost uncomfortable, but kissing Leo was causing warmth to spread throughout her. It was welcoming, and she felt that as soon as she let go, she would be engulfed in cold.

Leo suddenly pulled away and rolled off of her. Piper sat up and watched as he crawled over to a haystack and leaned against it. He rested his head on it with his eyes closed. Piper ran her hand through her hair, trying to catch her breath.

"What are we doing?" Leo said, staring at the ceiling.

"I believe it's called kissing," Piper offered. Leo didn't even look at her; he just continued to study the ceiling. Piper crawled over to where he was and sat next to him, taking his hand in hers. She felt the warm feeling again. "Is something wrong, Leo?"

"Is something wrong?" Leo asked incredulously. "Of course something is wrong Piper." He finally met her eyes.

"Leo, you've been having the memories too, haven't you?" Piper asked, diving into the subject that was the reason for meeting him here. He looked at her for a long time.

"Yes," he finally said, looking at Piper's hand on his.

"It was you on the roof. It was always you." Leo shrugged. "Well, what do we do?"

"I don't know." Piper turned to look at him, and saw that his eyes were shining helplessly. She rested her head on his shoulder, and eventually she felt herself falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Piper woke up with light falling on her face. She blinked a couple of times, trying to wake herself up. She felt warm arms around her and turning her head a little she saw that they belonged to Leo. He was still asleep. He probably hadn't slept properly for days. There was the sound of a door creaking open and then a surprised yelp. Piper's eyes shot open and she saw that Frank was standing at the door.

"What in Hades are you doing here?" Leo demanded, waking up after being woken by Frank's yell.

"What in Hades are _you _doing here? With _her_?" Frank shot back, eyes wide. "Why is it always me?" he added in an undertone.

"What time is it?" Piper asked in alarm. How long had they been down there?

"10 in the morning," Frank answered.

"What!" Piper and Leo shouted in unison.

"Please don't talk at the same time," Frank grumbled. "You guys weren't in your rooms and that crazy satyr started throwing a fit, and I was sent to the Stables to check. Decided to pull a Percy and Annabeth, I guess."

"Oh no, we are _so _dead," Piper muttered.

"Glad you figured that out Beauty Queen," Leo said, getting up. "Let's go before Coach starts tearing the ship apart looking for us."

When they arrived on deck they saw Coach Hedge running around, waving his club over his head and yelling, "WHO TOOK MY CUPCAKES?! NOBODY TOUCHES MY CUPCAKES!"

"Right here Coach," Leo said, raising his hand like a little kid saying 'present' during the role call.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" the satyr roared.

"The Stables," Frank supplied.

"THE STA – WHY DO YOU CUPCAKES KEEP GOING DOWN TO THOSE STABLES? I FORBID ANYONE FROM GOING DOWN THERE EVER AGAIN! GO TO YOUR ROOMS RIGHT NOW, YOU TWO ARE GROUNDED!"

"But–"

"NOW!" Piper decided that pushing the matter further would not be good for her health. She turned around and started walking back to her room, but half way there she glanced back and saw Coach Hedge saying something into Leo's ear that made him turn red.

She could have sworn that he had said, "About time."

* * *

**Kind of just a fluffy chapter. Because everyone needs some fluff in their life. Right? Maybe not...**

**OMG, Coach Hedge ships Liper! I knew it! :) What'd you think of my fluff? **

**REVIEW! (I think you know where the review box is, so I'm just gonna skip the arrow from now on...)**

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	12. Falling

Chapter 12

**So, yeah, I'm updating. Hip hip hooray! ****I wrote and edited this chapter in about 10 minutes. It's a record! ****This is a short chapter, but it's packed full with...well you'll see. I threw in a POV change so, keep that in mind. And uhm...well...don't hate me for the following...though you probably still will. **

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**Leo's POV**

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Coach Hedge made them skip breakfast, but he let them come down for lunch. He still made sure that they sat on opposite ends of the table.

"No more funny business like last night," he said strictly. Leo was surprised to see him so calm and collected. He hadn't yelled 'DIE!' since Leo had been allowed to leave his cabin.

"Yes Coach Hedge," Leo said in a robotic voice. The satyr glared at him.

"I'm going to nap," Coach announced. "You," he pointed to Jason, then Hazel, then Nico, then Frank, "make sure they," he pointed to Leo, then Piper, "don't do anything naughty."

"Yes sir," Jason said obediently. Leo rolled his eyes. Soldier Jason must feel glad to have a task. But he still loved him… as a friend… gods, you can't make a modest comment without people finding a perverted meaning. Oh well, most of the time Leo was the one finding the inappropriate meanings.

Coach Hedge walked out, yawning and muttering about "misbehaving cupcakes."

There was an awkward silence in the room, during which Leo lazily wrapped spaghetti around his fork. Finally, Jason spoke.

"You know when we said that we needed to be closer? We didn't mean _that _close." He was smirking. Leo glared at him.

"Like how close you and Nico got?" he retorted. "Yeah, I saw the way you couldn't keep your eyes off of him after you went to the stables."

"I hate the stables," Frank grumbled. "I am never going down there ever again. What do you people find so romantic about hay?"

"It's private," Piper said. Leo could see that she hadn't really been thinking about her comment, because she blushed immediately after. All eyes were now on her.

"Yes, private," Jason said, his smirk returning.

"Which leads me to wonder why you and Nico needed that kind of privacy. I think I know what was going on down there," Leo said with a wink. Jason scowled at him, and Nico was giving him a death glare. _Ha, DEATH glare. _"Your reaction tells me that I am correct," he said triumphantly.

Nico and Jason didn't talk for the rest of lunch.

* * *

The rest of the day consisted of three consecutive attacks. Nobody was seriously injured, but the ship was badly damaged.

"What's with all the attacks?" Hazel cried out in frustration. "It was calm for so many days, and now all of a sudden… three attacks in one day! Unbelievable!"

"It means we're getting closer," Nico answered grimly. "These attacks are nothing. Gaea's real forces are waiting near the Doors of Death. In a way it's good. We're getting practice."

"It's not good!" Leo shouted. "My beautiful ship!"

"Calm down Leo," Piper yelled. Her hair was disheveled and she had a spot of dirt on her cheek. Leo thought she had never looked better.

"I can't calm down!" he shouted stubbornly. "I'm gonna climb the mast and try and fix some of the damage!"

And that's what he did. He climbed up the mast, and soon he was very high up. The mast swayed dangerously, and he found himself staring down at blue water from a very high distance. _If you fall from very high up, the impact on water feels the same as hitting concrete_. The thought didn't make Leo feel much better. He moved up a little more and the mast creaked. He heard a sickening SNAP and felt the mast tilting towards the water.

He was falling and he felt the air rushing past him. It felt as though he had left his insides much higher up. His mind screamed as he hit something. Something surrounded him, cutting off his air. His head became foggy and everything was black.

And then, he couldn't feel anything.

* * *

**Piper's POV**

* * *

She had gotten a bad feeling the minute Leo's feet left the ground. It only increased as he climbed higher up. She saw the way the mast swayed, she heard the loud creaks. And then she heard it. The mast had snapped.

She watched in horror as Leo and the mast fell, fell, fell, and disappeared. She screamed his name repeatedly. _No, no, no, no, no this wasn't happening!_

She ran to the edge of the ship and stared over. The water was violently churning and she couldn't see the mast or Leo. He was gone. She screamed and she felt the tears start to fall. She screamed and screamed until her throat hurt. She felt strong arms around her and knew it was Jason.

"Piper," he was saying soothingly. But it was pointless. Leo had… had…

"Leo!" she called again. "Leo!"

And then she lost it. She lashed out kicking and hitting anything around her. Jason held on, despite her many kicks and insults and curses. She wanted to throw herself overboard. She wanted to join him in the dark waters. She needed to. But Jason wouldn't let her go.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked. "I want to go too! Let me die!" And she stopped kicking, sliding down until she was curled on the floor. Jason was still holding her.

If Jason admitting his love for Reyna hurt, then this was torture… worse than torture. Worse than anything. That was nothing compared to the agony filling Piper now. Leo couldn't be gone, he just couldn't. This wasn't happening, it was a dream. She would wake up, she would wake up.

Why did this have to happen to her? She was finally happier than she had been in a long time with Leo. Something was there. Something more was going to happen. What was supposed to happen was finally going to happen. What was meant to be was going to come true. She was going to be with Leo, happy. But no, he was snatched away from her by the merciless water. Everything had been snatched away from her.

Piper had found a friend in Annabeth, and she had fallen in to Tartarus. Piper had found love in Leo, and he had fallen in to the ocean. She sobbed again.

She felt someone else kneeling beside her, holding her. She opened her eyes weakly and saw Coach Hedge. What surprised her most was the single tear falling down his face. She had never seen Coach cry. She had never imagined it. She hadn't thought it possible, but here he was. He really did care about Leo. This was hurting him too.

"I won't lose another cupcake," he said, his voice was the opposite of his usual loud and intimidating one. "I won't."

Piper just sobbed more. Eventually she was helped to her room and forced to lie in bed. Jason was stationed next to her to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. Dying wasn't stupid now, though. It was all she wanted.

Because she couldn't live without Leo. She just couldn't.

She needed him.

* * *

**Um...so...what do you think? Review? Please? I'll write faster! Next update will be pretty fast, I'm gonna go start on it now!  
**

**That said. I have an announcement:**

******On June 29th, I'm leaving for a vacation that will last 3 weeks. And I'm not allowed to take my laptop. (I TRIED!) So, there will be no updates during that period of time. But my brain will still be working, as will my imagination, so I'll be coming up with a BUNCH of new ideas! I'm sorry, guys! I will definitely update at least one more time, possibly two. It all just kinda depends! Sorry!**

**And I'll still be getting emails on my phone, and I would LOVE to see some reviews! (SO REVIEW!)**


	13. Calypso

Chapter 13 – Leo

**It took longer than expected because I kept getting distracted... but it's done now! I loved the response I got last chapter, because to me it means that you guys actually care about this story enough to have a reaction! So, here it is. Old friends return, new connections are made, and some trouble is brewed. This is chapter 13, and the number 13 is really special to me, so I would love to have lots of reviews for the 13th chapter, because 13 is a number I love! Sorry if the chapter seems a bit choppy, I really tried to get it to flow...read on!**

* * *

His head hurt like Hades and everything was black. It took him a while to realize that it was black because his eyes were closed. After a whole lot of effort, he finally managed to open them, and everything was still black. But this time there were white specks all over, and shadows shaped like trees.

_What is going on? _Leo thought miserably. And then something blocked his view of the white specks. Or someone.

It was a girl. She had caramel hair that was in a braid. She seemed about 16 and she smelt like cinnamon. Leo liked cinnamon. She had a timeless face and almond-shaped eyes. She was beautiful because she just looked so…natural.

"You have awoken," she said in a soft and silky voice. Leo stared at her, dumbstruck.

"I was… sleeping?" he asked. The last thing he remembered was falling into the ocean. "Am I dead?" The girl's mouth twitched into a smile. A sad one.

"You are alive. Very much alive," she said in her delicate voice.

"W-who are you?" Leo asked, starting to get a little scared.

"Calypso." Leo looked at her, uncomprehendingly. She sighed and helped him sit up. He saw that he had been lying on a hammock. "Do you feel good enough to walk?"

Leo nodded.

"Then let us take a walk around my island. I will explain everything to you." Leo carefully lifted his legs and stood up. His head swam and he swayed a little, but Calypso steadied him. They began to walk slowly.

"What is this place?" Leo asked, looking around. It was a beautiful island. There were pretty and exotic flowers everywhere, tall trees, and four gurgling fountains. There was the steady sound of waves hitting a rocky shore. "Who are you?"

"This place is Ogygia," Calypso answered. "As for who I am… I am the daughter of Atlas, Titan of the West. I am also immortal. Many, many, many years ago, I was cursed to live on this island for the rest of my life. It was lonely, as can only be expected. Once in a while, a god would drop in to catch me up on the world outside, but other than that I was alone. Every thousand years or so, a hero would wash up here, needing healing. It was always a person that I could not help but love, but they always had other places to be. It was always a hero who I could not have. Who would end up leaving me."

"Why were you cursed?" Leo asked curiously.

"Because my father is a Titan," Calypso answered. It sounded as though she had told this story many times before.

"That's so unfair," Leo said, feeling angry that such a nice – and beautiful – girl had been kept on this island only because of her father. Calypso only smiled sadly.

"No, in fact, it is fair. I was rightly punished. I chose to fight with the Titans. I was lucky enough to be given such a nice prison. I made a bad decision."

"But why? Why did you fight with the Titans?" Leo asked.

"The same reason why you are fighting with the gods now. They are your family, and the Titans were mine. No more, however. I wonwill nott fight with them anymore. The gods are not always right, but in matters like these they are. I will not try to go against them again."

"Oh," Leo said lamely.

"Do you know Percy Jackson?" Calypso asked, looking at him.

"Yes," Leo said rather stiffly.

"Is he alright?"

"Not really… he kind of fell into Tartarus…" Leo said awkwardly.

"What!" Calypso said, alarmed. "He… how did this… oh no."

"It's okay," Leo said, trying to sound reassuring. "Everyone keeps saying that if anyone can make it out, it's those two."

"Those _two_?" Calypso said questioningly.

"Yeah, him and his girlfriend Annabeth. He fell into Tartarus trying to save her." Calypso's face darkened and she looked more upset than before.

"Of course," she said softly. "It was foolish of me to expect anything else. The point is, a little while back, Percy Jackson washed onto my island. Like all other heroes, he could not stay. Then, after the Second Titan War, he requested the gods to free me. And they did."

"Then why are you still on this island?" Leo questioned.

"Because it is home," Calypso said simply. "I do not have anywhere else to go. I know that once I leave I will not be able to find my way back. So I stay here, miserable as it is, because it is the only place I have. But I did not know the gods were still going to send me heroes… and not this soon for sure."

"Well… I guess they did."

"You are not like the heroes they normally send. You are different. What is your name?"

"Leo Valdez."

"Leo Valdez," Calypso repeated. "There is something different about you, Leo Valdez. But I know, in the end, it will not be good for me."

Leo didn't say anything. Instead he watched in amazement as a flower tended itself. Calypso saw what he was looking at.

"Invisible servants," she said, answering his unspoken question. Leo nodded.

"Cool…"

* * *

The next few days were surreal. Leo slept, sipped nectar and lazed around. He didn't have to worry about anything; the invisible servants took care of it all. He still felt a little dizzy when he stood up, but other than that he was recovering quickly. At night, he would watch Calypso tend her garden. His favorite was a pretty flower that glowed silver in the moonlight. Moonlace, Calypso had called it.

They talked a lot. Calypso told him of everyone who had washed upon her island, and Leo talked about his life. That night, Leo was helping her with the garden.

"You are definitely different, Leo Valdez," Calypso commented in her silky voice. "I have never spoken so openly to anyone before."

"I could say the same to you," Leo said quietly, getting up and moving to sit somewhere that wasn't covered in dirt. They had been working for a while and his knees were sore from kneeling so long. "I've never told anyone everything so quickly." Calypso got up, brushed herself off, and joined Leo on the cushioned bench he was now sitting on. She put her hand on his.

"I am glad you came to Ogygia. Even if you will not be able to stay forever. You are not the typical hero. I did not think I would fall in love with you, as I did the others. But…" she trailed off.

"But what?" Leo asked, hardly daring to believe his ears.

"But you have proven me wrong," she said softly. Leo couldn't stop the bubbly feeling in his chest. That meant that Calypso – this beautiful, out of his league girl – had fallen in love with him. But still, something made him feel… wrong.

An image of Piper flew through his mind, and he felt guilty. She was probably worried about him somewhere, and here he was getting cozy with Calypso. Leo turned to look at her and saw that her eyes were watery.

"There is another girl, isn't there?" she said in a broken voice. Leo looked down at the green grass beneath his feet. He was wearing a loose cotton white shirt and loose cotton pants that Calypso had given him.

_"These will make recovering easier. You need to be as comfortable as possible," Calypso had told him. "Besides, you can not wear the same clothes all the time."_

Leo had still insisted upon wearing his tool belt. He just didn't feel right without it.

"Who is she?"

"Who is who?" Leo asked, trying to stall.

"The girl, the one you love. You can not hide it from me, Leo. I can see that you care for another."

"Piper," Leo said quietly. He hated telling Calypso this. He hated knowing that he was very possibly breaking her heart. He didn't want to be like those other heroes who had left her. He was supposed to be different. "We're not together, or anything, but…"

"It is fine," Calypso said gently. "I knew I would not be able to keep you. You should sleep now Leo Valdez. Though Piper may be in your life, for now you will be my hero. Until you have to leave."

Leo nodded. _Seems legit, _he thought. It was a fair deal. And so he went to bed, though he had strange dreams about Calypso and Piper fighting, and then Echo showed up and Hazel came in too, until it was an all out catfight. _Ha, _them_, fighting over _me_. This is definitely a dream._

* * *

The next day, Leo helped Calypso with her garden, and Calypso told more stories. Leo even got a nice nap.

That afternoon, they were eating lunch together at the beach like they always did. Leo was staring into his chicken stew.

"Calypso?" She looked up at him questioningly. Leo reached across the table and took her hand. Her caramel hair was loose today, which was only because Leo had snuck up behind her and pulled out her braid. This had resulted in a lot of laughter, and Calypso chasing him into the fountain. Her silky hair looked nice when it was flowing freely. "I'm glad I landed on your island."

She smiled, and it wasn't the same shy smile as at first, it was much broader and brighter. "I am glad too, Leo. I-" She was cut off by the sound of a huge crash. The pair exchanged looks before getting up and sprinting towards the noise. When they arrived, Leo felt as though all of the air had been knocked out of him.

There, lying on the rocky beach, horribly splintered and damaged, was his beloved ship. The Argo II.

And then the idea hit him, that his friends might be inside, and he was running as fast as he could towards it. Calypso was right behind him. She could run surprisingly fast in her Greek dress.

Getting on the ship took some time. Eventually, Leo was able to climb over using the debris as steps. While doing so, he hastily explained how this was his ship, so Calypso was up to speed. By the time Leo was able to get on the deck, Calypso had re-braided her hair. He helped her up and vaguely registered the fact that she wasn't afraid of getting dirty or of getting hurt. Once they were both safely on deck, Leo noticed something that made his heart lurch uncomfortably.

Coach Hedge was lying unmoving on the deck, spread out as though he were making a snow angel.

"Is this the satyr you were speaking of?" Calypso asked, moving to his side in an instant. Leo nodded. "He is alive, though it will take some healing. We need to get him on the island; this ship could give way at any moment."

"Yeah, you start moving him, I'll go check on the others," Leo said, turning and sprinting towards the cabins. He figured that Coach must have realized that they were about to crash and sent everyone to their cabins so they would be safer. How the crazy satyr had managed to stay attached to the ship as it was thrashed about, Leo would never know. He stopped at the nearest door and threw it open.

He saw Hazel. She was bent over someone, crying uncontrollably and shaking them. Stepping closer, he saw that it was Frank, and he had a nasty cut on his face.

"Hazel?" Leo called softly. She immediately straightened and spun around. When she saw him, she stared at him uncomprehendingly. Leo stepped closer.

"Leo?" she said, her tone disbelieving. "Is that… is that really you? But I thought… I thought you…"

"Hazel it's me," Leo said, leaning next to her and taking her hands. "It's me Leo Valdez. Not a ghost or anything, it's really me." She stared at him blankly for a second more, and then all of a sudden she was hugging him to the point of suffocation.

"Leo," she shrieked in what he assumed was relief. "Leo, oh my gods, we thought you were dead. I can't believe…" she froze and pulled back. "Where are we?"

"Ogygia," Leo said. Hazel shook her head.

"I don't know…"

"It doesn't matter," Leo cut her off. "It's safe. Tell me what happened."

Hazel sniffed. "Well, after you… you know, we were attacked again and there was more damage to the ship. Nobody knew how to fix it, since we didn't have you _or _Annabeth. We were going by air, and there was no way we were going to stay up for much longer. Coach Hedge told us to go to our cabins, and we tried to protest, but he wouldn't have it. He made us leave and said he had things under control. I came in here and Frank followed me. The ship started to toss and turn like crazy, and Frank threw himself on top of me so I wouldn't get hurt. We tossed around for at least half an hour, and then just now there was a loud crash and everything became still. I looked at Frank and he…" she sounded helpless. "He's passed out and he has horrible injuries."

Leo was about to say something, but before he could there was the pounding of footsteps and a black-haired boy burst into the room.

"Hazel are you al- LEO?!"

"Nico," Leo said, nodding.

"I thought – but you – didn't you – I – are you going to explain this?" Nico spluttered, seemingly unable to find any words. "Where are we? Hazel, are you-"

"I'm fine," Hazel said before he could finish. "But Frank isn't."

"Alright, you two, drag Frank onto the island, where you'll get help. I'll go check on the others," Leo ordered. Nico just stared at him.

"Where are we?" he demanded.

"Ogygia, Calypso's Island," Leo explained. Unlike Hazel, understanding dawned on Nico's face.

"No way," he breathed. "Come on Hazel, we'll be safe here. We can get help." Working together, the two managed to drag Frank out of the room with Leo following. Looking to his right, he saw Jason slumped over in the hallway.

"Hold up, what happened to him?" he asked. Nico and Hazel turned to look.

"The idiot," Hazel muttered, shaking her head. "He was running all around checking on everyone. The ship probably threw him against the wall." Leo groaned. _Stupid Jason always has to be heroic._

"Can you guys take him after Frank?" They nodded and Leo began walking to Piper's room. He had to see her, to make sure she was alright.

When he threw the door open, however, he didn't see her. Clothes were scattered everywhere and there was a huge pile of comforter and pillows on one side of the room. But where was Piper? Leo stepped cautiously over a broken piece of wood and began to look around. While he was checking her closet, his foot hit the pile of pillows and he fell on to them.

_At least they're pillows, not nails,_ he thought glumly. And then he heard an earsplitting shriek and he was thrown off the pillow pile. He landed roughly on the carpet. He blinked a couple of times before turning back to the pile of pillows, wondering what had thrown him. And then he saw Piper sitting in the middle of the comforter and pillows, looking dazed.

Her brown hair was disheveled and her kaleidoscope eyes were slightly glazed. She stared at Leo blankly for a moment, and then, she passed out. _Great._ Leo was quickly by her side. She needed some nectar he decided, gently lifting her off the mass of pillows. He was surprised that he was able to carry her, but then again, he had walked around with bits of metal much heavier.

Once he stepped into the hall, he saw that Jason was gone, meaning Hazel and Nico had probably managed to drag him out. He walked carefully through the ship and managed to get down onto the beach safely. He saw that Calypso had set up a make-shift hospital which consisted of a long row of hammocks. Coach Hedge was on the first one, Frank next to him, and then Jason. Calypso looked over as Leo walked towards them. Her gaze traveled to Piper in his arms then back to him.

"Is this Piper?" she asked gently. Leo nodded. "Set her down over there." She pointed to the hammock next to Jason. Leo walked over and carefully placed her on it.

"What can I do to help?" he asked Calypso. She wasn't looking at him, she was busy bandaging Frank.

"Just give her some nectar. She should be fine." Leo nodded and reached for the small vial sitting on the conveniently placed table. Now, he noticed that there was one between each hammock. He carefully uncorked it and tipped a few drops into Piper's mouth. She immediately stirred, and after a few seconds her eyes flew open. She looked around wildly for a moment, before her eyes fell on Leo. And then, she let out the most ungodly scream and lunged at him, so he was lying on the grass with her on top of him.

"Oh gods, Leo, you scared me so much!" she sobbed. Her eyes were full of tears.

"Hey, Piper, don't cry," Leo said awkwardly. "Are you that upset to see me?"

In response, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a sitting position, putting one leg on either side of him. There faces were close. Then, she promptly began hitting him.

"Ow, ow, ow, PIPER, what the Hades?" Leo shouted, surprised. Piper just kept hitting him.

"How _dare_ you Leo Valdez. Who do you think you are?" she said angrily. Leo felt the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. "And now, you're smiling! You know what, Valdez, you-"

She didn't finish that sentence, because the next second her lips were assaulting his and her arms had traveled to his neck. _Whoa, talk about mood swings. _At some point, his hands winded up tangled in her already messy hair. They pulled apart for air for a second, but Piper immediately pressed her lips back onto his. When she was finally satisfied, she pulled away. Leo's head was swimming.

"I love you," Piper whispered in his ear. It took Leo a moment to wrap his mind around that. She… loved… him. HIM! Leo Valdez! Repair Boy! He felt like dancing!

"I love you too," he said honestly. He had never imagined himself saying that. Oh well, first time for everything. He glanced around and noticed that Calypso was staring at them looking hurt. It made him feel guilty, and awful, and a whole lot of other unpleasant stuff. When she saw him watching her, she immediately turned away to tend Coach Hedge, so her back was facing them.

"You need to rest," Leo told Piper, tearing his gaze away from Calypso to look at her.

"But… where are we?" she asked, getting up and frowning. Leo got up too.

"Calypso's Island." Her eyes widened as he said it.

"No way. That explains so much… but that means…" her eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion. Leo gently pushed her towards the hammock and forced her to lie down.

"Rest. I need to go… check on something." He turned and saw that Calypso had vanished. He had an idea of where she might be though, and he started running in that direction.

He passed the gardens he had helped Calypso with, he passed the spot where he had first met her, and it all only added to his guilty feeling. He stopped at the bottom of a large hill – cliff, more like – and saw Calypso standing there, caramel braid blowing in the strong wind. He started up the hill and stopped right behind her.

"Calypso," he said tentatively. She turned to face him and there were tears streaming down her timeless face. It scared him; she was normally so calm and collected.

"Leo, please, no," she said, shaking her head helplessly. "I knew it would happen. Why… why am I not used to it yet? It was starting to get easier, but then… you. You are different Leo Valdez. You… you taught me so much. How to… how to laugh openly. In you, I found trust, and love, and so many other things that I did not find in the other heroes who have washed upon my island."

"Calypso," Leo whispered, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw her practically trembling.

"But… you were never mine. Just like the others… you…"

"I'm sorry." And he really meant it, more than he had ever meant those two words before. He had never felt so sorry in his life. He reached forward and gently pulled Calypso into his arms and allowed her to sob into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"I am sorry too. I brought complications into your life, and you did not need complications." She pulled away. "You have a world to save, and you will sail away on your beautiful ship with a beautiful girl in your arms. And I will stay on my island, with nowhere to go. This will be forgotten. It is only an obstacle in…"

"No," Leo cut her off. "This isn't an obstacle, and this won't be forgotten. I will never forget it."

This was awful, just awful. Leo was furious… especially at a certain Love Goddess. All his life, he had fallen for girls who hadn't given him a second glance, and now, here was, with two girls in love with him, and he would be lying to say he wasn't a bit torn. Piper, well, you know what was going on over there, and Calypso… Leo had to admit he had developed feelings for her. She was so beautiful, and he loved the way she laughed, it was so careful, so cautious, as though she were afraid she would get in trouble for laughing too much. And Leo loved it.

So what exactly was he supposed to do now? Why did Aphrodite have to throw this in on top of everything already going on? And the thing was, he didn't regret it. He didn't regret meeting Calypso, he couldn't. So what in Hades was has he supposed to do, or think, or anything?

"You are conflicted," Calypso said, tearing him from his thoughts. "I did not mean to cause additional stress to you." She closed her eyes, delicately, and once again Leo felt the tugging in his heart. Like he was betraying someone, or two people, or… he couldn't even think straight.

"I don't know what to do," Leo said helplessly. "How do I even…" He was stopped when Calypso placed her hand over his mouth, gently.

"You choose Piper. She is the one for you. You and me… it is not meant to be. No matter how much I want it… you are meant to have a future with her. Our meeting… I don't know why, I rarely know why the gods do anything but… it was not in vain… I am glad I met you. You have changed me, and I will _always _remember you. You stand out more than the other heroes who wash upon my island. Because, Leo Valdez, you are different."

"Come with us," Leo said suddenly. "Come with us on the quest. We'll take you back to Camp Half-Blood, maybe you can start working there, start a garden or something. You can stay there like Chiron, start a new life."

"A new life?" Calypso said, seemingly interested. Leo nodded. "At Camp Half-Blood?" Once again Leo nodded.

"Please, it will be good for you. I know you love this island, but it'll be nice for you to go out, see a new place, like you've always wanted. You said you couldn't leave because you didn't have anywhere to go. Now you do have a place to go," Leo reasoned. Calypso seemed to consider this, and a sudden spark caught in her eye.

"To the House of Hades first, though. To close the Doors of Death?"

"Well… yeah."

"Alright."

"Really?"

"Yes," Calypso confirmed. "I will come."

"Great," Leo said, a grin breaking out on his face again. "Um… you wouldn't happen to have some supplies to help with the ship…would you?" he added hopefully.

"I do, just tell me what you need," Calypso said, her voice sounded dull now. Leo rattled off a list of supplies, and Calypso nodded. "I will tell the servants to get them. You check on the others meanwhile. I will join you soon."

"Perfect," Leo said, turning and running back to the spot where his friends were.

* * *

"Leo where were you?" Hazel asked, the minute she saw him.

"Um… talking to Calypso," he said sheepishly when he saw Piper staring at him.

"Nico told me where we are, you're okay, right?" Hazel continued.

"Never better," Leo answered without thinking. At this, Piper's stare turned into a glare.

"Calypso is really nice," Hazel added, unaware of Piper's glares, "she's amazing at healing. Frank is already looking better."

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing," Leo said thoughtfully. By now, Piper looked murderous. She looked liked she was about to say something, but then…

"DIE!" Leo moved away just in time to avoid being squashed by Coach Hedge, who had just lunged at him and was now lying facedown on the grass, furry behind sticking in the air.

"Coach, it's me Leo!" Leo shouted, not wanting to be turned into a Valdez pancake. The crazed satyr immediately froze and turned to look at Leo, and then he tackled him in a hug.

"MY CUPCAKE'S ALIVE!" he yelled triumphantly. "YOU HAD ME WORRIED, VALDEZ!"

Leo smiled and tore himself from the death grip. "I see you missed me."

Coach Hedge immediately stepped back and looked as though he was trying to redeem himself. "Don't be stupid, it was a well deserved break," he said, though Leo could see that it wasn't. Coach Hedge had missed him. The satyr's eyes then fell on the nearest garden. "Food," he said starting towards it, but Leo stopped him.

"No way Coach, those are Calypso's and she works really hard to grow those plants," he said, determined to protect the garden.

"Well what's a satyr supposed to eat then?" Coach Hedge snapped.

"You can have some grass, but don't touch the garden," Leo said firmly. Coach Hedge agreed, though he grumbled, and started to graze on the grass. Leo turned to see Piper still glaring at him.

"What's so special about the garden?" she asked icily, eyes flashing dangerously. Hazel looked between her and Leo, as though just noticing the tension.

"Didn't he just say?" she said, obliviously. "It's Calypso's, she works hard on them."

"So what if their _Calypso's_?" She said the name venomously.

"Well, she is very nice, and she has been helping with our care. Besides, Leo spent some time with her here, they probably grew close," Hazel said. Leo did a mental facepalm. Hazel had just blown it.

"Close, huh?" Piper said cuttingly. "How close, Leo?"

Hazel suddenly seemed to realize what was going on, and her eyes widened. She mouthed an apology to Leo, who nodded slightly.

"Come on, Piper, don't be stupid," he said desperately.

"Stupid, am I?" Leo suddenly realized that whatever he said would be used against him.

"No, of course not," he said as sweetly as possible. Piper's eyes flashed, and suddenly, Leo got mad. Really mad. "Piper, stop it, I don't need this," he said harshly. Piper immediately looked taken aback.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, we're not even together and you're already being clingy and jealous," Leo snapped. "Gods Piper, just give me some space, I need room to breathe and I definitely don't need to get your permission before doing anything. Honestly, we're not even _dating_!"

Before Piper could respond, Hazel did. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" she said loudly, interrupting them. "What is wrong with you two? We're going to reach the House of Hades any day, we're going to fight everything Gaea's got, and you two are fighting like… like… I don't even know!"

"Hazel," Leo started, but she wouldn't have it.

"Listen, Leo, I don't know what's been going on here or how it's affected you, or whatever, and Piper, I know this has been really hard for you, the stress of losing Leo and all, but please, for Juno's sake, sort this out!" Hazel pleaded. "And if you wouldn't mind doing it a little farther away so you don't disturb Frank or Jason."

Piper and Leo exchanged glances and sighed, walking away from the group and closer to the cave. Once they were out of earshot, they turned to look at each other, unsure of where to start.

"Leo, I'm sorry… I just, I don't know. I get upset whenever you're around other girls and I don't know why and I know it's stupid and irrational, but I just can't stop it," Piper apologized. "I think it may be an Aphrodite trait."

"High possibility," Leo said. "Pipes, I rarely am able to get a girl to talk to me to begin with, even as just a friend, so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't try and chase them all off."

"I just told you, I can't control it."

"You can try."

"I am trying!" Piper said defensively.

"Are you Piper? Are you _really_?"

"Okay, fine. Maybe I can try a little bit harder."

Leo grinned widely. "That's my Beauty Queen!" he said cheerfully. Piper gazed at him for a while, until it became a little unnerving. "Uh, Pipes…you okay?"

"_Your _Beauty Queen?" she said, a smirk on her face.

"I don't know," Leo said, feeling a sudden unnatural burst of courage. "Do you want to be _my _Beauty Queen?"

Piper smiled and hugged him tightly before whispering, "I would love that." And Leo couldn't stop the burst of warmth that spread through him. He heard someone tentatively cough and turned to see Calypso watching them. Immediately, he sprang away from Piper.

"The supplies are ready. They are near the ship," Calypso said simply, before turning and walking towards the area where the others were. There was silence between Leo and Piper.

"Snap out of it," Piper said, snapping her fingers in front of Leo. "You've got repairing to do, Repair Boy." Leo grinned.

"And would the beautiful Beauty Queen be willing to assist the repairing Repair Boy?" he asked graciously, bowing and holding out his hand. Piper took it without hesitation.

"Always," she said earnestly, and they walked hand-in-hand to the Argo II, where there was a pile of supplies waiting.

Repair Boy with his Beauty Queen, and Beauty Queen with her Repair Boy.

* * *

**How about that? Thoughts? Let me know! As stated above, I'm hoping for lots of reviews for 13, because this chapter is VERY special to me. I was planning this from the minute I started the story, I was always planning on Calypso making an appearance, so I really want to hear your opinions!**

**As I said in the previous chapter, this will be the last update in a while. Let's hope Zeus is in a good mood while I'm traveling, because I'd rather not have the plane I'm on be blasted out of the air... oh no, I just scared myself...**

**ALSO, on another note, I need your thoughts on a different topic. So, I'm debating whether or not I should take out the Liper parts and post this as an individual Caleo one-shot. What do you think? Let me know, pleaseeeeee!**

**ONLY A FEW MORE CHAPTERS GUYS, THIS FANFICTION IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE, SO I WOULD REALLY LOVE THOSE REVIEWS!**

_**Sorry for the looooooooooooon Author's Note!**_


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